RDS to hold Dublin land as profits dip 13%

The RDS is not planning to sell any of the 42 acres of land it owns in Dublin to fund its future commercial activities, chief executive Mr Shane Cleary said yesterday.

Announcing a 13 per cent drop in operating profits in 2001 to €1.467 million compared to the previous year, Mr Cleary said the RDS was examining ways to develop its asset base without selling land.

"We're actively looking at what opportunities are there. We have 42 acres in Dublin 4 and we have parts of that which are not very productive at the moment," he said.

The leasing of a three-acre site to the Four Seasons Hotel chain for 99 years was the first stage in a process of seeking to utilise its assets, he said.

Mr Cleary described 2001 as a challenging yet satisfactory year given the difficulties encountered following the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in March and the economic uncertainty arising from the terrorist attacks in the US in September. Total income for the year fell to €8.946 million, due to the loss of commercial activities valued at €500,000.

"The figures are not as bad as they might have been, given the calamitous nature of foot-and-mouth disease. We lost a number of big events here, around €500,000 of commercial activities, such as the boat show, and that went straight to the bottom line," he said.