Donie Cassidy & Dublin Airport

Concept21

From The Sunday Times
June 13, 2010
Senator’s bar licence deal faces legal fight
‘Extraordinary’ case involving Donie Cassidy is challenged in court
Brian Carroll
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AN “extraordinary” deal whereby a lucrative licence to run bars in Dublin airport was awarded to a company part-owned by Senator Donie Cassidy is being challenged in the High Court.

The case centres on how Atwell, a company in which the Fianna Fail leader of the Seanad held a 20% share, was stripped of its licence to run the pubs by Dublin airport Authority (DAA) in May last year. It also involves a dispute over why the licence was transferred without tender to Cavtat, a company in which he has a 25% share.

Atwell, a subsidiary of the Thomas Read Group, held an exclusive 10-year licence to operate Dublin airport’s bars that was set to expire last June. When the Thomas Read Group collapsed with €26m in debts, Atwell was put into receivership in March last year owing €10.1m to ACC Bank, €3.4m to AIB and €204,000 to the Revenue. It also owed €924,000 in rent arrears to DAA, an amount that has since been written off.

The High Court put Atwell’s bar licence, its main asset, under the protection of Martin Ferris, a receiver acting for ACC who was responsible for recouping the bank’s money. But on the Friday of the May bank holiday weekend last year, Ferris’s agents were asked to leave the bars by the DAA, and Cavtat emerged as the exclusive licence holder.

The licence was not put out to tender, as is apparently required by EU rules. The DAA has claimed exceptional circumstances applied in this case and it was within its legal rights. Ferris is challenging this.

“Ferris’s people were escorted off the premises, the stock was seized, and the bars re-opened a few hours later,” said a source familiar with the controversy. “The staff were told ‘you’re now working for Cavtat’.” ACC sources have described the licence switch as “extraordinary and inexplicable”.

It is understood Ferris will claim an Atwell survival plan could have allowed the rent, revenue and bank debts to be paid in full, provided the company retained its licence and secured a €10m investment. Ferris will also tell the High Court that a number of investors were negotiating a €10m injection when the licence was transferred.

Ferris is seeking the return of all items “seized” when the transfer to Cavtat took place, including stock and fittings. He has also claimed the pubs operated for five weeks without a licence before being put into Cavtat’s name. The DAA has denied any breach of licensing law took place.

The case could also involve questions over how Cassidy was paid more than €900,000 for “managerial services” by Thomas Read Group over the 10 years it held the exclusive licence to run the airport bars. Mark Leavey, the former chief executive of Thomas Read Group has stated in an affidavit relating to a previous legal case: “I am not aware of any services provided.”

Ferris has written to Cassidy asking for proof of the “managerial services” he provided. The senator has so far not replied.

In addition to the bar licences, Cassidy’s family business has also controlled most of the CD, DVD and record sales at Dublin airport since 1984.

“Just why would the DAA sign a deal increasing its losses by almost €1m, when there were other equal offers on the table to save that money?” a senior ACC official said. “ACC itself was willing to invest the money to save the group.

“The DAA, a semi-state body, will have to explain why it didn’t put these lucrative licences out to tender,” a source familiar with the legal challenge said.

“In spite of negotiations with the receiver, DAA was unable to reach agreement on a continuation of the Thomas Read operation at the airport,” the authority said. “A licence to operate the bars was issued to Cavtat. The DAA is satisfied that proper procedures were followed and that, at all times, the company acted appropriately.

“The receiver appointed to Atwell Holdings has decided to instigate legal proceedings against the company and the DAA is vigorously defending this action. As the matter is the subject of High Court litigation, it would be inappropriate for the DAA to comment further.”

Cassidy said he was not a director of Cavtat and had no part in the day-to-day running of the company. “I am sure the DAA will clarify everything for you,” he said.

Laminations

Were all of these share holdings declared in his statement of interests? This story stinks of dodgy dealings. If its proven that there were breaches of EU rules on tendering and/or breaches of licencing laws then top heads in DAA need to roll, without parachute payments. Seanad salaries should be means tested. For taxpayers to be paying the likes of Cassidy to serve on the Seanad while he is clreaming in €900, 000 doing other jobs is a joke - even if he is not apparently doing the other job. Donnie Cassidy should have been removed from the Seanad after his waffle about the housing market, which I hope fooled no one into buying

"We have a duty to tell first-time house buyers, young couples with no previous experience, that there is unbelievable value in the marketplace today. It will not last forever. It is never the wrong time to do the right thing. I offer the House the benefit of my experience and my opinion which is all any Member can do. I will remind the House, perhaps in 12 or 18 months, when prices have again increased by 25% or 30%, that they were told this by the Leader of the House on this historic day, the tenth anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement"

gandalf

What the hell are they doing at the DAA, first the Ryanair Hanger mess up and now this. It stinks to high heavan and I am not surprised that there is a chancer from FF in the background to it.

People need to lose their jobs in the DAA over this and how is Donie Cassidy the leader of our so-called upper house with these kind of dodgy dealings going on in the background.

The guy has a 25% stake in this "new" company so an excuse like he was not a director of Cavtat and had no part in the day-to-day running of the company should not be excepted at face value.

Did he use his position within FF to put pressure on the DAA to transfer the license to the new company?

There should be a full investigation into this guys finances by Revenue and it be made public.

sceptre

Concept21,

As thread-starter, please include your own views as required by the forum charter. Rather than just copying and pasting an article from a news source, you're required to give birth to a discussion by including your own views when starting a thread. I'll leave it open for a few hours to give you the chance to do so - if not, the thread will be locked or deleted as the rule is pretty clear on this one.

Additionally we prefer that people include a link to the original article and ideally only quote relevant excerpts as it's a breach of copyright to just lift and quote the whole thing. Relevant excerpts give a reader the chance to use your provided link to go to the original news outlet and read the whole thing if they wish.

/mod

gandalf

Heres the original link.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/ireland/article7149134.ece

sceptre

Thanks for that gandalf. No return of the OP with a view, despite a PM from me so locked accordingly.