Being a farmer, I consider myself a businessman. It is a tough game to be self-employed and in this day and age, frugal investment is the name of the game. So when The Dealer noticed that the IDA bought 240ac from Teagasc in Athenry for €36m in 2007, I took notice.

But as time moved on and the Celtic Tiger claws got pared down to the nub, the plans of building a state-of-the-art IDA facility for the next multinational that was heading for our shores relinquished with the tiger.

Teagasc has been renting back the land for a mere €17,700 per annum. Taking into account the 240 acres of top-quality land, that equates to a very mild and modest €73.75/acre, almost 50% of the average rent paid by farmers for land nationwide. The Dealer has now heard from a source that this has reduced even further in 2016, although Teagasc could not confirm this.

By my calculations, it will only take the IDA 2,033 years to pay back the original purchase price.