THE HIGH Court has heard that a Co Offaly businessman, who was committed to prison for failing to comply with orders to hand over possession of machinery he had leased, is in Northern Ireland.
At the High Court in Dublin yesterday, Ms Justice Maureen Clark was told that Donal Rigney had not made himself available to gardaí after Monday’s order committing him to Mountjoy Prison for contempt of court was made. He was now thought to be in the North.
She heard last Wednesday that gardaí were unable to execute a warrant, issued last Monday, as it was believed that Rigney, who operates a plant hire operation, had left the State.
On that occasion, a legal representative of Rigney claimed that the father of four, from Gortacur, Mount Bolus, Tullamore, Co Offaly, had waited to be brought to Mountjoy by gardaí.
Last Monday, Ms Justice Mary Laffoy ruled that Rigney should remain in prison until he purged his contempt and had complied with the order to hand over machinery based in the Middle East. Ms Justice Laffoy rejected Rigney’s claims that the machinery was no longer in his control.
Finance providers Lombard Ireland brought proceedings arising out of Rigney’s failure to return 17 pieces of machinery, including dumper trucks, cranes and excavators, located in Dubai.
The equipment is estimated to have been worth between €1.9 million and €2 million.
Proceedings have also been taken by National Irish Asset Finance, which is seeking possession of machinery it had leased to Mr Rigney’s company, Donal Rigney Ltd. Ms Justice Clark yesterday made orders directing Rigney and his company to file an affidavit giving the exact location of National Irish’s machinery within 14 days.
It was to include details of any of the items which Rigney had indicated had been sold or scrapped.
The court also directed that the machinery be returned to National Irish within 21 days.