There were multiple contacts and meetings between agritech company Devenish Nutrition and four Government Ministers in the lead up to its sale of Co Meath lands to the Government for €11 million.
The Meath-based company, which manufactures animal feed, owned Dowth Demesne, which includes about one-third of the Unesco World Heritage site of Brú na Bóinne. It had earlier put the 552-acre estate, which includes a large Georgian country house, on the market for €10 million.
The purchase of the demesne in order to create the State’s seventh national park was announced in September.
According to records of lobbying activity on the Register of Lobbying, senior executives of Devenish met, or communicated with, Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage Darragh O’Brien, Minister for Enterprise Simon Coveney, Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys and Minister of State for Heritage Malcolm Noonan in relation to possible State interest in purchasing the estate.
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Devenish chief executive Tony McEntee, who assumed the role last March, is an uncle of Minister for Justice Helen McEntee. However, her spokesman said on Wednesday she had made no representations about, nor had any involvement in, the sale of the lands.
Government sources said on Wednesday that discussions around the acquisition had predated the appointment of Mr McEntee as chief executive eight months ago.
In a statement, Ms McEntee’s spokesman said: “No member of Minister McEntee’s family has any private interest in the lands.”
Ms McEntee, the spokesman said, was informed by Tony McEntee of the fact that a sales process was under way but added she did not discuss it any further with him.
During 2023, there was extensive lobbying of other Ministers in relation to a possible sale of the land to the State.
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In the first four months of the year, executive chairman Owen Brennan was in contact with senior officials in the Department of Housing about the sale.
According to an entry on the Register of Lobbying, the intention of the contact was “to give Government advance notice of the sale... and understand the level of potential interest from Government”.
The contacts, mainly with assistant secretary Niall Ó Donnchú, involved between six and 10 emails, between two and five phone calls, and three meetings on March 6th, April 2nd, and April 26th.
Between March and the end of April, the new chief executive, Mr McEntee, was in contact with Mr Coveney and Ms Humphreys, again to get an understanding of the level of potential interest from the Government.
The records show that, in total, there were between two and five emails exchanged, as well as between two and five phone calls, between Mr McEntee and the two Ministers.
A spokesman confirmed Ms Humphreys was contacted on this matter. “While recognising the potential benefits for the State, the project was beyond the scope of her department,” he said.
Mr Coveney’s spokesman said he was lobbied on the proposed sale. “However, he had no involvement in the assessment, negotiation or purchase of the estate,” he added.
On May 12th, Mr Noonan visited the farm at Dowth at a time when the State was considering its purchase. The Register of Lobbying submission notes there were “multiple emails and phone calls between Devenish staff and the Department of Housing, to set up, and to follow on, from this meeting”.
A spokeswoman for Mr Noonan said he visited Dowth in May with officials to see the site and assess its potential value for the State in terms of nature restoration and archaeological heritage.
“He is confident that the purchase was conducted properly and in full compliance with Government procedures,” she said.
On June 19th, Mr O’Brien visited the farm at Dowth. The Minister’s spokeswoman told The Irish Times: “The purpose of the visit was to receive an on-site briefing on the lands, properties and the research which was being carried out on the site.
“Mr McEntee and representatives from Devenish were present and participated in the briefing. The lands are not being leased back to Devenish.”
The final entry relating to the sale of the lands on the Register of Lobbying notes that on September 29th, the department held a media event at Dowth to announce the purchase of the property.
Mr O’Brien, Mr Noonan and Ms McEntee attended the event as well as Minister of State and Meath East TD Thomas Byrne, Labour TD Ged Nash and Senator Erin McGrehan (Fianna Fáil).
