Sean Dunne, once one of Ireland’s richest men, told an American court last week that he earns just €200 a month and is therefore unable to pay a sanction of $9,330 (€8,500) imposed on him earlier this year, The Irish Times reported. “As I am now bankrupt, I have great difficulty in obtaining work,” said the one-time Irish property tycoon in a sworn affidavit dated October 3rd.
Irish lender AIB Group Plc added its name to a growing list of borrowers shunning English law for their riskiest bank bonds in preparation for life after Brexit, Bloomberg News reported. The state-owned bank used Irish law for a sale of contingent convertible bonds on Wednesday that are set to replace its existing English-law governed notes. The move reflects a wider trend among European banks. Only 14% of euro-denominated CoCo paper sold by European lenders this year is governed by English law, down from more than 40% before 2019, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Revenue has succeeded in its High Court application to have a provisional liquidator appointed to a Co Meath-based bus company, The Irish Times reported. Mr Justice Richard Humphreys on Wednesday appointed insolvency practitioner Aidan Murphy, of Crowe Ireland, as provisional liquidator to Enfield Coaches Ltd, of Rathcore, Enfield, Co Meath. The court heard that the company provides coach and related transport services. At the High Court, Arthur Cunningham, for the Collector General of the Revenue Commissioners, said his client was owed €39,000 as unpaid PAYE, PRSI and interest.
Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe was briefed by his officials to warn the new governor of the Central Bank to keep a close eye on costs, according to documents released under freedom-of-information legislation, The Irish Times reported. The warning came in advance of the Minister’s meeting with Gabriel Makhlouf, who paid a two-day visit to Ireland ahead of taking up his role full time on September 1st. “It is understandable that the cost base of the [Central] Bank has risen with the increase in regulatory reach and powers.
The High Court has confirmed the appointment of an examiner to water firm Celtic Pure, which was at the centre of recent product recalls, The Irish Times reported. Mr Justice Michael Quinn also heard that there have been 20 expressions of interest from potential investors in the firm. Last month, the Co Monaghan-based provider of bottled drinking water sought the protection of the court from its creditors due to the fall out from two investigations launched after naturally occurring arsenic in some of the firm’s batches exceeded regulatory limits.
RTÉ has appointed the corporate finance arm of KPMG to review its strategic options for 2RN, its transmission network business, the Sunday Times reports. An outright sale of the business could raise up to €200 million for the cash-strapped national broadcaster, The Irish Times reported. The Central Bank of Ireland is at an advanced stage of an investigation into mortgage lenders who add legal fees to the bills of customers in arrears, driving them deeper into debt. Some banks stopped the practice after the regulator intervened.
Businessman Dermot Desmond has moved to formally wind up his QED Equity financial business, which provided advice to international banks, The Irish Times reported. Restructuring expert Declan de Lacy, a partner in PKF O’Connor, Leddy & Holmes accountants, has been appointed as liquidator of QED Equity in a solvent liquidation initiated by the company’s shareholders, which include an Isle of Man entity controlled by Mr Desmond. The directors of QED Equity include Mr Desmond and also Michael Walsh, who was formerly chairman of Irish Nationwide Building Society.
Ronan Ryan and his former Miss Ireland wife, Pamela Flood, had never heard of the personal insolvency regime when they both signed a consent agreement to give back their Dublin home to so-called vulture fund Tanager, the High Court heard today, BreakingNews.ie reported. Ryan had appealed against Judge Jacqueline Linnane’s Circuit court order allowing Tanager re-possess 136 Mount Prospect Avenue, Clontarf, even when he had insolvency court protection from every one of his creditors.
A Co Antrim property developer who claims he lost more than £1 million (€1.13 million) during the recession has begun a High Court action against the Ulster Bank, The Irish Times reported. Chris Gordon alleges fraudulent misrepresentation and negligence around the provision of financial services and banking arrangements over a number of years. Mr Gordon, who also operates as an estate agent, is seeking damages over the handling of his business dealings.
Almost two-thirds of voters have said they would be willing to forgo budget tax cuts at a time of rising fears over the economic cost of a no-deal Brexit, The Irish Times reported. According to the latest Sunday Business Post/Red C opinion poll, just 39 per cent said they wanted tax cuts and/or social welfare increases that benefit them personally. Instead, 61 per cent said they would prefer the Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe to invest more in public services in next month’s budget, at a time of public housing shortages and long health service waiting lists.