A majority of county councillors in Kerry have endorsed a proposal to sell the €15 million Jeanie Johnston replica Famine ship to the Dublin Docklands Development Authority.
The ship is being sold for €2.7 million and is to become a museum, councillors were told.
Sixteen councillors, including all Fianna Fáil councillors present, voted yesterday for the proposal to sell. Four councillors including two from Sinn Féin and two from Fine Gael, voted against the proposal and one independent councillor abstained.
A call for a Garda investigation into where €13 million of taxpayers' money had gone in the building of the ship was formally put to the meeting, but was defeated.
The proposal by the Jeanie Johnston (Ireland) Co Ltd, whose shareholders comprise Kerry Group, Shannon Free Airport Development Company, Tralee Town Council and Kerry County Council, to sell the replica Famine ship was "the best possible deal," said county manager Martin Riordan.
Between them, Tralee Town Council and Kerry County Council have spent almost €4 million on the ship. They borrowed for some of the spending and are now paying back loans on variable interest rates.
The €2.7 million available for the ship will be divided on a 60/40 basis, with Tralee the majority investor, getting the bulk of the money.