Ireland

The High Court has confirmed the appointment of an examiner to housebuilding firm McInerney Homes and a number of related companies, The Irish Times reported. Mr Justice Frank Clarke ruled that examiner William O’Riordan of PricewaterhouseCoopers must address a number of issues of concern to the court by early October or the process, opposed by a syndicate of three banks which are owed €113 million by McInerney, could be terminated.

Three banks could end up with around 20 per cent of house building group McInerney Holdings’ Irish businesses if a deal to save the companies involved is hammered out by the examiner appointed by the High Court yesterday, The Irish Times reported. The court confirmed the appointment of Billy O’Riordan of PricewaterhouseCoopers as examiner to McInerney Homes and four other group companies, giving them protection from creditors, including a syndicate of three banks owed a total of €111 million.

Fourteen groups have expressed an interest in investing in Aer Arann and the examiner hopes to have secured a deal for the airline by October 10th, the High Court has been informed, The Irish Times reported. In a report submitted to the court, Michael McAteer of Grant Thornton, who was confirmed as examiner of the airline yesterday by Ms Justice Finlay Geoghegan, states that indicative offers must be lodged on September 20th while final offers will have to be presented on October 6th.

Three banks, which between them are owed a total of €114.5m by house builder McInerney Homes, are opposing examinership of the construction group, The Independent reported. Barrister Rossa Fanning, counsel for Bank of Ireland, Anglo Irish Bank and KBC, told Ms Justice Mary Finlay Geoghegan yesterday that the banks were against the appointment of an examiner by the High Court. Judge Finlay Geoghegan said the matter would be heard by Mr Justice Frank Clarke on Friday.

Ireland's troubled banking system became the latest flash point in Europe's continuing economic crisis, as the government said it would split up the weakest of its major banks to stave off a run by depositors. Irish Finance Minister Brian Lenihan, days after meeting European Union officials, said state-owned Anglo Irish Bank Corp. would be divided into a government-backed bank that would hold customer deposits and an "asset recovery bank" holding the bank's increasingly bad loans. The asset-recovery bank could be sold in whole or part down the road. Mr.

The Minister for Finance, Brian Lenihan, TD today announced that the State bank guarantee for short term bank liabilities, including corporate and interbank deposits as well as debt securities would be extended from its current expiry date of September 29 2010 to 31 December 2010, Finfacts reported. The Department of Finance said a State guarantee will therefore be available for both short- and long-term liabilities up to the end of the year.

The Irish businesses of ICT services group Calyx have gone into receivership, The Irish Times reported. The formerly-listed company will continue to trade as a going concern while a buyer is sought. Tom Kavanagh of Irish insolvency practice KavanaghFennell has been appointed receiver. The Calyx Group, which employs more than 500 people in Ireland, the UK and Northern Ireland, was placed in administration on September 3rd. Geoff Rowley and Phil Armstrong, partners at FRP Advisory LLP, were appointed joint administrators of the business in the UK and Northern Ireland.

Ireland's government is seeking European support to stabilize tottering Anglo Irish Bank, hoping to end a recurring banking nightmare that has sparked fresh fears about its national finances, The Wall Street Journal reported. Struggling with the euro zone's biggest budget deficit relative to its gross domestic product at more than 14% last year, Irish authorities are also grappling with the ballooning cost of bailing out the banks, especially state-owned Anglo Irish—a bill that has already hit €33 billion ($42.55 billion), or roughly 20% of Ireland's GDP.

Any day now NAMA will appoint a formidable line-up of what it calls enforcement professionals, or liquidators and receivers to you and me. This panel, to be recruited in Ireland and the UK, will be on the front line in the expected confrontation between NAMA and Ireland's heavily indebted and usually insolvent developer class, The Independent reported in a commentary. The planned appointment of these insolvency firms is already inducing mild panic in the companies and individuals they will be grappling with.

The number of unemployment benefit claimants rose by 2,500 in August on a seasonally adjusted basis, The Irish Times reported. Some 455,000 people are now in receipt of benefits according to the Central Statistics Office. This the largest number ever recorded since the Live Register of claimants was first compiled in 1967. The standardised unemployment rate, which is calculated separately, rose to 13.8 per cent last month, up from 13.7 per cent in July. It was 13.1 per cent at the start of the year. The rate of joblessness in August was the highest since mid-1994.