The Jeanie Johnston is now valued at just €700,000.
THE Jeanie Johnston replica famine ship is now worth just €700,000 according to Dublin City Council.
A report in today’s Irish Times says the ship, which was built in Blennerville at a cost of €15m, has sunk in value and costs €240,000 a year to run as a tourist attraction on Custom House Quay in the capital.
Last year the attraction made just €140,000 in ticket sales from 20,000 visitors.
The Dublin Docklands Development Authority, which is to be abolished later this year, bought the ship ten years ago for €2.7 million from Kerry County Council and other shareholders including Tralee Town Council, Kerry Group and Shannon Development.
The ship and other assets worth €8m will be transferred to Dublin City Council in the autumn who will take over the running costs.
The Jeanie Johnston was commissioned in the late 1990s for £4.5 million but it eventually cost the taxpayer €15.5m, €13m of which came from State funds.
