Fees of €300,000 approved for liquidators of firm behind Dublin care facility

A High Court judge has approved fees of more than €300,000 sought by the liquidators of a company operating a south Dublin care facility and nursing home.

Mr Justice Michael Quinn had said last Friday he would also like to know the position of the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection, owed more than €1 million – in relation to employee entitlements — on the fees application by the liquidators of St Mary’s Centre (Telford). He also sought clarification concerning a number of other issues.

To allow time for the matters to be addressed, the judge deferred the hearing of an application by Neil Hughes and Dessie Morrow, insolvency practitioners, of Baker Tilly, for payment of €313,918 out of the assets of the company as the costs of their remuneration from their appointment between July and October.

Sally O’Neill BL, for the Revenue Commissioners, owed some €200,000, had said on Friday that, following extensive communications and a small fee reduction, Revenue was not objecting to the liquidators application.

She said the liquidation was “incredibly hands on” give the nature of the company’s business. It did not seem there would be much left for creditors after the fees of the liquidators and legal fees are paid, she added.

When the matter returned before the judge on Tuesday, he was told by Ross Gorman Bl, for the liquidators, an affidavit addressing the issues had been provided by Mr Morrow. The department had also said it was not objecting to the fees application and would not be attending court.

Ms O’Neill reiterated the Revenue’s position and that it was not objecting to the application.

Affidavit

The judge noted the department’s position and that neither the Revenue or any of the other notice parties were objecting to the fees application. He was also satisfied the “very clear and helpful” affidavit from Mr Morrow addressed the other matters raised.

In those circumstances, the judge said he would make orders approving the fees application.

The liquidators were appointed last July to the company, which for many years operated a disability care facility for legally blind persons as well as a nursing home on a campus beside St Vincent’s Hospital on Merrion Road.

It applied for a winding up order for the facility, owned by the Sisters of Charity, because it would be unable to meet redundancy payments of in excess of €950,000 arising from the liquidation. It also cited regulatory difficulties, concerns over future funding from the HSE and an inability to comply with Hiqa recommendations to modernise its facilities.

In late September, the judge refused an application on behalf of some residents and some former and current employees to discharge the liquidators and instead appoint an examiner to the company.

He said there was insufficient evidence before the court to conclude the company had a reasonable prospect of survival.

The judge noted all of the nursing home’s residents had left and 18 of the care centre’s residents remained. He further noted the liquidators were in discussions about the HSE taking over the care facility for a transitional period, which could take up to 18 months to complete.

The Sisters of Charity had indicated their support should such discussions be successful and the appointment of an examiner would not aid that process and would add to the costs and the complexities of it, he said.