Arthur Beesley

2 days ago | irishtimes.com | Arthur Beesley

More than 800 new social and “affordable” homes will be built near Leopardstown Racecourse in south Co Dublin after a deal to transfer State-owned land to the Land Development Agency (LDA) from the national horse-racing body was reached. The long-awaited agreement, backed by Taoiseach Micheál Martin, will deliver housing on a 17-acre plot of Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) land next to the M50 motorway. The land is zoned for residential use but currently used for racecourse car parking.

1 week ago | irishtimes.com | Arthur Beesley

An investment fund promoted by barrister and debt adviser Ross Maguire is receiving rent of €2 million per year from Dublin City Council for a vacant hostel. Avalon House at Aungier Street, Dublin city, has been dormant since a legal wrangle six years ago when local objectors went to the High Court to block plans by the Peter McVerry Trust (PMVT) charity to provide homeless accommodation in the property. The dispute led Dublin City Council to take over the McVerry Trust lease in May 2021.

1 week ago | irishtimes.com | Arthur Beesley

Two years on from the RTÉ scandal that became the greatest show on earth, a cast of 11 Montrose managers returned to Leinster House to meet the Oireachtas media committee. After Ryan Tubridy’s spectacular flame-out, this sequel was never going to match the original version. TDs and senators concentrated their questions on a new television marketing campaign for the news division, which is still in production, and on a €3.6 million writedown over a partly abandoned IT project.

1 week ago | irishtimes.com | Arthur Beesley

A top University of Limerick official has resigned his post, a year after the institution was rocked by a botched property deal in which it overpaid €5.2 million for student housing. Andrew Flaherty was chief commercial officer of UL since October 2020. He had responsibility for commercial activities, buildings and estates when UL went ahead with a €11.9 million deal in 2022 in which it paid significantly above market price for 20 student homes.

1 week ago | irishtimes.com | Arthur Beesley

A Georgian hotel in central Dublin earmarked for homeless services has lain dormant for more than three years after the Peter McVerry Trust (PMVT) acquired it for €6.24 million with public money. The fate of the former Latchford’s hotel on Baggot Street remains uncertain after prolonged PMVT turmoil over lax governance and financial controls.