The operator of a number of Dublin hostels used by asylum seekers is entitled to some payment from the city council and the HSE in relation to accommodation services provided by him in the late 1990s, a High Court judge has ruled.
John Meagher, who ran hostels in Charlemont Street, Parnell Street and Dorset Street, had argued he was owed about €390,000 but Mr Justice Gerard Hogan said his claim was limited to services provided for specific periods between March 1999 and October 2000.
Among Mr Meagher’s entitlements were an enhanced rate of €25 (£20) a night for adult Roma clients which he had agreed with the authorities in 1998, the judge said.
In return for this enhanced rate (the normal rate was £15 a night), Mr Meagher had agreed not to put in any claim for any theft or damages to his property, the judge said.
He also ruled all claims before March 9th, 1999, were statute-barred because Mr Meagher only lodged his claim six years later in 2005.
Mr Meagher was entitled to claim 20 per cent of the invoices he supplied for services provided after March 9th, 1999, as well as for the enhanced Roma rate after that date.
He was entitled to claim for services provided in the Dorset Street facility from December 1999 to March 2000 and from June to October 2000 in relation to Parnell Street.
He was not entitled to unpaid rent for the hostel in Charlemont Street, for September 8th to October 19th, 2002.
The judge adjourned the case to see if agreement can be reached on the sums due.