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Irish Independent
17 hours ago
- Business
- Irish Independent
Owners of Galway firm that provides services for IP applicants share €5.6m dividend
Alan Connolly and Conor Nolan, both from Ballinasloe, in Co Galway, each own 50pc of Allpro Security Services Ireland Ltd through their Be Rite Group Ltd. New accounts show that Allpro Security Services Ireland Ltd declared a dividend to Be Rite Group Ltd of €5.68m last year, which works out at a dividend payout of €2.84m each for the co-owners. Pre-tax profits at Allpro Security Services Ireland Ltd increased from €1.6m to €12.28m in the 12 months to the end of March 2024. The surge in profits followed revenues increasing from €15.85m to €44.3m over the period. The company recorded post-tax profits of €10.56m after incurring a corporation tax charge of €1.62m. The directors say that the principal activity of the company is the provision of security, cleaning services and facilities. Figures previously provided by the Department of Integration show that in the first quarter of this year, Allpro Security Services Ireland received €6m, including Vat, through state contracts. This followed the firm receiving €14.59m for the second half of 2024 from the Department of Integration for providing services in the IP and Ukrainian accommodation sectors. The payout to Allpro Security Services was part of an overall spend on accommodation for IP applicants and Ukrainians totalling €1.84bn for 2024. A spokesman for the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration confirmed that Allpro Security Services Ireland Ltd 'is contracted to provide services at three state-owned sites'. 'These are Columba Barracks, the Central Mental Hospital Dundrum and Kilbride army camp,' he said. 'It also provides services to commercial providers at Synge Street and Mount St Mary's.' Allpro Security Services Ltd also provided the facilities management services at the Emmaus Centre in Swords, Co Dublin, which provided accommodation to people fleeing the war in Ukraine until the end of May 2025. 'The department is working with Allpro Security Services Ireland Ltd to return this building to the Christian Brothers, which involves refurbishing this property to its condition prior to the licence commencement.'
Irish Times
02-08-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
How former GAA manager Séamus ‘Banty' McEnaney made over €200m from housing refugees and the homeless
Almost seven years ago the Government started moving newly arrived asylum seekers into hotels and B&Bs on a temporary basis because the State's direct provision system was full. By early 2019 almost 6,600 international protection applicants were living in the Republic. A few hundred of these were living in emergency accommodation. Today almost 33,000 applicants are living in State-provided accommodation with 25,000 in emergency accommodation. An average of 1,000 people are arriving in Ireland each month seeking protection each month, according to the Department of Justice. A letter from the secretary general of the Department of Integration to the Public Accounts Committee reveals that the Government first approached a company called Brimwood Ltd in September 2018 for help in securing additional accommodation for asylum seekers. READ MORE The department contacted Brimwood on a recommendation from the Dublin Region Homeless Executive, which had previously used property provided by the company, according to the letter sent in 2023. [ Séamus McEnaney family group was paid €24m in three months for homeless and refugee housing ] It details how Brimwood Ltd subsequently entered into contracts with the Reception and Integration Agency, now the International Protection Accommodation Services (IPAS), 'either directly in its own hotels or indirectly by sourcing accommodation in other hotels and guest houses that they lease from the owners through their own contractual arrangements.' Brimwood was the only intermediary used by IPAS between 2018 and 2021 to source this housing. Seven years later, Brimwood Unlimited continues supplying accommodation for asylum seekers and Ukrainian refugees across the country, earning €24 million in State contracts last year. The company received €5.6 million in IPAS payments during the first three months of the year. The directors of Brimwood are Séamus McEnaney (57) and his daughters Sarah (26) and Laura (32). It is an unlimited company so it does not have to publish financial accounts where it might show the profits it makes. Companies owned by the former Monaghan GAA manager and his wider family were also paid more than €14 million for housing asylum seekers and Ukrainian refugees in the first three months of this year. There were paid additional sums of more than €10 million for providing accommodation to homeless people to Dublin City Council in the same period. Overall the family companies are estimated to have been paid more than €200 million for the provision of emergency accommodation since late 2018. Séamus 'Banty' McEnaney, born and raised in Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan, was the youngest of five brothers in a family of nine children. He earned the nickname 'Banty' from his father who declared his youngest son was a 'banty hen' because of the barrel chest he had as a child due to poor health. McEnaney left school at 11 and started working in a local bar. Within a few years, he was holding down a day job in the local chicken house and worked nights at Oasis outside the town, described in the 1980s as Ireland's biggest nightclub. A few years after opening Banty's Bar in 1987, McEnaney and his brothers purchased the Fiddler's Elbow, a popular local restaurant and nightclub in Carrickmacross. The group of brothers continued to build their property portfolio through the 1990s and early 2000s. McEnaney and his brothers also played for the local Corduff GAA football team; his brother Pat went on to become a high-profile GAA referee. One former schoolmate of the brothers recalls how closely knit the family were – 'the joke was if you kicked one of the McEnaneys, all five would come limping after you'. Séamus, who was always the frontman in business dealings, has 'great charisma and energy' but also an 'unshakeable self-confidence', says the former schoolmate. In 2005, shortly after purchasing the Westenra Arms Hotel in Monaghan town, McEnaney took over as manager of Monaghan GAA football team, a position he held until 2010. After a two-year stint managing Meath, McEnaney managed Wexford in 2016 but stepped down the following year. He returned to Monaghan, managing the senior team from 2019 to 2022. 'He lit a fire under that team after 15 years of being in the doldrums,' says the schoolmate. 'He was a great motivator but not a great strategist. There's still a question whether he was a successful manager – he was and he wasn't.' Then Monaghan manager Séamus McEnaney talks to the squad after a game in 2001. Photograph: Morgan Treacy/Inpho The McEnaney family was badly hit by the recession. In 2011 a High Court judgment of almost €13.5 million was secured by AIB against McEnaney. The debt, McEnaney said at the time, related to development land. Shortly before the Covid pandemic, news of the McEnaney family's rapidly growing earnings through IPAS contracts began to spread. Football fans at one preseason Monaghan game shouted abuse from the stands at McEnaney, according to one prominent figure in Ulster GAA, speaking on condition of anonymity. 'It's massively changed how people see him,' says the GAA figure. 'Making money off the back of this would really irk people. There's obviously people who have a gripe about him doing well with this. The family always drive big cars and are in corporate boxes; they're not afraid to splash it – and that creates begrudgery.' The State's almost exclusive reliance on private companies, such as those owned by the McEnaney family, to house international protection applicants, is unusual in a European context. A 2022 report from the European Asylum Support Office found most EU countries use State-owned centralised systems or mixed models – State authorities and civil society or private operators – to house asylum seekers. In the UK, state contracts are a source of great wealth for private operators. In May, Graham King, founder of the migrant-housing company Clearsprings Ready Homes, acquired the unofficial title of Britain's 'asylum billionaire' after he joined the Sunday Times Rich List of new billionaires. Nick Henderson, chief executive of the Irish Refugee Council Relying on private companies to secure housing for asylum seekers is 'significantly eroding public confidence' in our asylum system, says Irish Refugee Council chief executive Nick Henderson. 'We don't need our own asylum billionaire,' he says. 'These people are providing a service and they're making money from it but it's not necessarily their fault. The fault ultimately lies with the State.' The lack of independent inspections of these centres is also concerning, says Henderson. Since January 2024, the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) has carried out periodic inspections of permanent IPAS centres, which represent just 11 per cent of the 324 centres across the State. Standards in emergency accommodation vary widely, from tented accommodation, to private rooms in hotels and dormitory-style accommodation in repurposed office buildings. A spokesman for the Department of Justice said it was involved in 'regular unannounced inspections of the accommodation centres to encourage compliance'. 'People residing in emergency accommodation tend to experience poorer standards' and live in 'more random or unsuitable locations', says Henderson. Spending millions of euro on this housing is 'ultimately a dead spend,' he adds. 'Let's accommodate people in a way that benefits residents but also gives integrity to the system,' he says. 'That requires very significant political will, to wean the Government off its reliance on emergency accommodation.' Mike Allen, director of advocacy with homeless charity Focus Ireland, says this same reliance on private contractors to secure homeless housing has become a policy of 'repeated short-termism'. Constantly operating in crisis mode, without a long-term strategy, leaves the State in a 'weak bargaining position' where local authorities are 'almost begging private providers to find accommodation', says Allen. 'In some way, homeless people become implicated in this waste of public money,' he adds. Like Henderson, he says his criticisms are not directed at providers such as McEnaney but lie with government for creating a system almost entirely reliant on the private sector. Successive government housing policies have created a situation where many refugees with permission to live and work in the State are unable to find a place to live and must turn to local authorities for support, says Allen. As a result, some of these could end up in State-provided accommodation 'owned by the same landlord but operated by a different arm of the State'. His comments echo those of Dublin Region Housing Executive director Mary Hayes who told an Oireachtas Committee on housing last month that the homeless system had become the 'institutional discharge from one institution to another'. The main factor driving adult-only homelessness is people leaving direct provision, according to the latest DRHE figures. Andrew Geddes, director of the Migration Policy Centre at the European University Institute, says some European international protection systems, including the Irish model, have developed a 'permanent temporariness' in their approach to asylum. 'What you're effectively doing is warehousing people in the absence of a longer-term plan,' he says. Susan Fratzke, a senior policy analyst with the Migration Policy Institute, says an ability by government to 'flex up and flex down' in response to unpredictable changes in migration patterns, driven by war and climate change, is a key element of long-term asylum planning. She argues that while State-owned properties are a key element of a functioning asylum housing system, reliance on private contractors is also important. She says European governments need to plan for fluctuation so when numbers decrease, they can prepare for the next surge. 'This causes political tension because governments don't like to say we're planning for a rise in asylum claims, they prefer to talk about what they're doing to reduce numbers,' she says. 'But they could save money by being more realistic about these numbers. That requires political will.' A Department of Justice spokesman said the Government was working towards 'developing a more stable and sustainable accommodation system in the long term' and was moving away from reliance on the private sector through the purchase of 'more accommodation on State-owned lands'. This includes the recent purchase of Citywest Hotel and campus. The Department of Housing has made a similar commitment for homeless people – a spokesman said efforts are ongoing to reduce reliance on private emergency accommodation and secure supported housing operated by NGOs.
The Journal
01-08-2025
- Politics
- The Journal
Ukrainians leave jobs and pets behind as they're forced to leave Co Cork hotel
THE EVICTION OF around 400 Ukrainians from a hotel in Co Cork has been described as an 'affront to humanity'. The 120-room Quality Hotel in Redbarn outside Youghal had hosted Ukrainian families since April 2022. They were informed in January that they would have less than a month to find alternative accommodation but this was then pushed out to 31 July. In January, the people at the hotel were told that accommodation would be offered elsewhere to those who need it and that 'every effort will be made to keep them as close to their current location as possible'. However, the Department of Integration noted that 'given the significant number of moves planned, this may not always be possible'. The statement added that the provider at this site has expressed an interest in providing accommodation for international protection following the end of the Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection contract. Responsibility for integration matters has since been passed to the Department of Justice. 'Unjust' Fiona Corcoran of The Greater Chernobyl Cause told The Journal that around 250 people left the hotel, while others had left earlier. The Greater Chernobyl Cause is a humanitarian aid charity based in Co Cork and founded by Corcoran. She said it was 'unjust to forcibly remove Ukrainian residents from their sanctuary' and criticised the Department of Justice for not allowing people to bring their pets with them. 'The Government allowed our Ukrainian refugees to bring in their pets from war torn Ukraine and now they're forcing them to find new homes for their animals,' said Corcoran. 'These pets provide essential emotional support in coping with the trauma caused by the death and occupation and conflict and the experience of becoming a refugee. 'One of the women I spoke to said she brought her dog to a friend's house and that this is 'maybe for a while, or maybe forever'.' The people who were being accommodated at the Quality Hotel are now being relocated in various areas around Ireland, including in neighbouring Co Kerry and Co Waterford, but also as far away as Co Louth. 'It's actually an affront to humanity, as far as I'm concerned,' said Corcoran of the relocation. She said that the people in the hotel had 'absolutely no say whatsoever' in where they are sent to. Advertisement 'For some people, it's actually the third time their being forcibly moved, because when Russia invaded Crimea back in 2014 some of these people lost their homes. 'Then they had to move again in February 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine, and now once again they have to move because our Government is uprooting them.' Corcoran also criticised the decision to move some of the people to the village of Portmagee in Kerry. 'There's one bus a day there, and that's actually booked in advance,' said Corcoran. 'So transport is a huge issue, there's no GP, and the nearest hospital is 90 minutes away.' One woman who had to move from the hotel told Newstalk that she has been resettled in Waterford. 'We hope that something could change, because everybody would like to stay here,' she said. 'Don't give false hope' She also noted that around 150 of those who were living in the hotel were employed locally. 'Our government hasn't a clue what it's doing because that's after creating unemployment of 150 people,' said Corcoran. 'The Government says it's cost saving but how can it be cost saving if people are losing their jobs and then they're on the live register.' She also voiced concern that the move could impact on job security for special educational needs assistants who primarily worked with Ukrainian children. Corcoran also remarked that the move is 'very upsetting for the Youghal community because these Ukrainians are part of the community'. 'They're part of the GAA and other sports and school choirs, so the locals are very, very upset and very sad to see that the Ukrainians have moved on. Meanwhile, Cocoran said she is 'very cross' with one of the local politicians. While she didn't name this politician, she said: 'He knows who he is and shame on him. 'He gave me a guarantee last week that he would be with the Ukrainians in Youghal on Monday, and then chose not to take our calls. 'If you're not going to get involved, that's fine, but don't give false hope to these Ukrainians who left their war torn country and who have lost close family members.' The Department of Justice has been approached for comment. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
BreakingNews.ie
30-07-2025
- Politics
- BreakingNews.ie
Appeal court overturns finding that State breached rights of homeless asylum seekers
The Court of Appeal has overturned a High Court finding that the State's failure to provide accommodation for homeless asylum seekers was a breach of their fundamental rights. The appeal court said the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) had not proved that the situation of extreme material poverty for homeless asylum seekers undermined the physical and/or mental health of the members of that class of persons or put them in a state of degradation incompatible with human dignity. Advertisement Mr Justice Anthony Collins, on behalf of the three-judge Court of Appeal (CoA), allowed an appeal brought by the State over the High Court decision. He dismissed IHREC's application for judicial review. State-funded IHREC issued its challenge in December of 2023 after the Government announced for the second time that it could not accommodate all single adult male arrivals amid 'unprecedented pressure' on services. At that point, 259 adult male applicants were awaiting an offer of accommodation. This figure had risen to 2,987, according to Department of Integration figures. IHREC argued the number of unaccommodated applicants has continued to rise, and the situation continued to be a humanitarian emergency. Advertisement The Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, and the State said the situation for newly-arrived male asylum seekers had 'improved considerably' in the preceding months, with the State's International Protection Accommodation Services able to offer accommodation to everyone who was 'actively rough sleeping'. In August 2024, the High Court ruled that the State's response to the needs of unaccommodated asylum seekers was 'inadequate' to the point of breaching the men's right to human dignity as set out in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU. Mr Justice Collins, on Wednesday, found IHREC had an express statutory entitlement to commence proceedings for the purpose of obtaining the relief it sought. He said in order to succeed in these proceedings, IHREC must prove, on the balance of probabilities, that a class consisting of those applicants who presented to the International Protection Office between December 4th, 2023 and May 10th, 2024, and who did not receive an offer of accommodation, were in a situation of extreme material poverty. Advertisement It must also prove this prevented them meeting their most basic needs and which situation undermined their physical and/or mental health or put them in a state of degradation incompatible with human dignity. The court was prepared to infer that the members of that class of persons were thereby placed in a situation of extreme material poverty. However, he said IHREC had not proved that that situation of extreme material poverty undermined the physical and/or mental health of the members of that class of persons or put the members of that class in a state of degradation incompatible with human dignity. In relation to costs, he said bona fide proceedings instituted by a body funded by the public purse against the body which is funded from the same source are "a necessary, if infrequent, feature of the operation of the rule of law. Advertisement An order to award the costs of this appeal to either party could only increase the level of resources expended upon the legitimate purpose of resolving the issues at stake in this litigation, he said. Accordingly, he proposed he would neither disturb the High Court costs order nor make any order as to the costs of this appeal, unless either party seeks a different order.
Irish Examiner
25-07-2025
- Politics
- Irish Examiner
‘She could wander into traffic': Dementia patient's daughter pleads for safer housing before Cork hotel eviction
Vera Arksonova spends every waking hour consumed by fear that someone is coming to hurt her. She carries around as many possessions as she can in the belief that she is being watched and will soon be robbed of everything. The 72-year-old resident of the Quality Hotel in Youghal knows that something is coming. The fact that she and other Ukrainian families will be forced to leave their homes on July 31 has only served to heighten her confusion. It was initially believed that the grandmother was suffering from shock when she arrived from Ukraine three years ago. Tests carried out by Irish doctors confirmed the condition was in fact dementia. Vera is now cared for by her daughter Violetta. The 31-year-old has two children — a daughter Samira (nine months) and five-year-old son Damir — with her husband Roman. Violetta explains that Roman also has a litany of health challenges following concussions sustained during his time on the frontline of the war with Russia. A brain injury he experienced during childhood had been further compounded by battle wounds. Violeta Pratsovyta (left) with her mother Vera Aksonova. Picture: Dan Linehan Hundreds of Ukrainian residents of the Youghal hotel were first told they had to vacate six months ago via a letter from the Department of Integration. That announcement sent shockwaves through the seaside town, as the refugees, who had built lives in Youghal, were initially given just two weeks to prepare to leave their makeshift home. Following a huge local campaign and a groundswell of support for the residents, many of whom had been living in the hotel since shortly after the Russian invasion of their country, the eviction date was subsequently extended to next week, July 31. Violetta has since received news that her family is being relocated to a hotel in Waterford city. Details of the new living environment have come as a devastating blow, given that the accommodation is situated on a bustling city street. Violetta described it as an extremely dangerous environment for her mother, as a dementia sufferer who is known to wander off at any time of day or night. Often times, she will be searching for the shops and bus stops she once frequented back home in Ukraine. She is now pleading with the government to reconsider their choice of accommodation for the family. 'This will be really dangerous for her,' Violetta said, fighting back tears. 'We have comfort here, knowing that she is safe and in an enclosed environment. "Sometimes my mother will visit the reception of the hotel three times and ask the same questions because she doesn't remember going there. She is known to wander off but everyone looks out for her here. If they see her acting in a such a way that is aggressive they know it's dementia. There are not many cars here so we know she's not in danger. Now, we have to take her to a busy place where nobody knows her and she could easily wander into traffic. She also reiterated the importance of routine for her mother's health. 'My mother needs access to a kitchen. This is essential for her mental health. "Cooking, chopping, and washing dishes helps her stay connected to reality. Her doctor stated that having a kitchen is part of her therapy. Without it, she may rapidly deteriorate.' Violetta does her utmost to reassure her mother. 'My mother believes that someone is trying to hurt her. She absolutely refuses to move and keeps saying she wants to return to Ukraine. She often talks about it and says she feels unwell. Her appetite has also declined. She is afraid that we will leave her. Lately, my mother's condition has worsened. She sleeps very poorly at night and often gets up and walks around. "The doctors have prescribed her different medication to help her fall asleep, as the previous ones were no longer effective.' Vera's biggest fear is losing their adored dog Dana. Residents have been told they cannot bring their pets with them. Violetta, however, said they are not about to part with a member of their family. 'My husband has vowed to sleep with him in the car every night because we can't have him inside. He has been with us since I was pregnant with my first child. "He fled war with us so there is no way we can give him up. We don't want him to be put to sleep.' Oleksandra Makoviei, who is also a resident in the Youghal hotel, said that exceptions should be made for families like Violetta's. 'I thank the government because we would never have had this opportunity without them. We were able to learn English for three years and find jobs. "It's okay for me because I have a healthy mother. Violetta has too much on her shoulders. The children are used to school in the area. We help each other. Violetta has support here. It's harder for some families than others. Fiona Corcoran from Cork charity the Greater Chernobyl Cause, who has been lobbying on behalf of the Quality Hotel residents, reminded the government of their duties. 'This is not just a moral issue, it is a legal one. According to the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act 2014, public bodies are legally required to act in accordance with the principles of equality, dignity, and non-discrimination, especially when it comes to vulnerable groups such as persons with disabilities, women, children, and war-affected families. "We at The Greater Chernobyl Cause are steadfast in our dedication to providing support to our Ukrainian brothers and sisters during this critical period, which is of the uttermost importance. It is entirely unjust to forcibly remove Ukrainian residents from their sanctuary, particularly those who are ill and require medical care.' She said that forcing people to part with their pets will be truly heartbreaking for families. 'The government allowed Ukrainian refugees to bring their pets from war-torn Ukraine. Now, they are forcing them to find new homes for their animals. "Life would be incomplete without their pets. They provide essential emotional support in coping with the trauma caused by death, occupation, conflict, and the experience of becoming a refugee. "We must also remember that our Ukrainians cannot return home because there is no safe area in war-torn Ukraine.' Read More Cost of accommodating each asylum seeker rises to €84 a day
