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GERRY ADAMS HAS said there were “serious conflicts of interest” surrounding the sale of Clerys, leading to the loss of over 400 jobs.
Speaking in the Dáil today, the Sinn Féin Leader highlighted what he called “sharp practice” in the run up to the sale and the involvement of individuals and companies in various aspects of the deal.
Adams said company law needs to be changed to protect workers from “rogue employers”.
“As is now known, Boston-based vulture capitalists Gordon Brothers bought Clerys in 2012 for a figure believed to be around €2 million. This sale was made possible by Bank of Ireland writing off €10 million of Clerys debts and lending the same amount to Gordon Brothers.
“In July 2013, 80 staff were laid off at Clerys while Gordon Brothers received around €14 million in insurance for flood damage.
Adams stated that Gordon Brothers separated the department’s retail business from its property assets by setting up OCS Operations and OCS Properties, before selling the latter for €29 million to Natrium Ltd, which was incorporated on 27 May as a vehicle for the purchase of Clerys assets, last week.
Natrium Ltd, which now owns Clerys, is a joint venture between Cheyne Capital Management and D2 Private. A senior executive at Cheyne is a former NAMA executive. D2 is run by a former KPMG employee. KPMG are also the Special liquidators at Clerys. KPMG also featured in the IBRC scandal and the sell-off its assets.
“Clerys retail business, now OCS Operations, was placed into liquidation before the property assets were sold off. There is no provision for redundancy, holiday pay or other staff-related costs or pensions. No fairness for employees or concession holders.”
Adams stressed that he was not implying any illegality took place, saying the practice is “entirely legal” under company law introduced by Fine Gael and Labour.
The Louth TD called on Enda Kenny to support a bill proposed by Sinn Féin’s Peadar Toibín that seeks to amend the legislation.
In response, the Taoiseach said: “Company law in its entirety is quite a complex document,” and noted thatthe government introduced legislation last year that had been “in gestation over a number of periods of government over the last decade”.
Kenny said it would be “more appropriate” for the company law review group to “look at this particular issue to see if it’s appropriate that some changes are made”.
He noted that Jobs Minister Richard would advise on this “in due course”.
Kenny added that employees, some of whom had given four decades of “loyal service”, had been subjected to “insensitive treatment”.
‘Golden circles’
Adams went on to say Clerys “is the latest example of a culture of golden circles, insiders and inequality which has so angered Irish citizens in recent years”.
“Previous D2 investors have included Sean Fitzpatrick of Anglo-Irish Bank and a former Fine Gael Attorney General. Liquidators KPMG have also worked as auditors for D2 Private. So Clerys liquidators also worked for the purchaser. There appears to be clear conflict of interest issues here.
“Furthermore, the Companies Registration Office also lists Rafael Klotz as a Director of both OCS Operations and OCS Properties. Mr Klotz is also the Senior Managing Director of Gordon Brothers. The same Gordon Brothers who left Dublin after pocketing an extraordinary profit of €19 million after destroying so many jobs in this city.”
“Insiders, golden circles, sharp practice. All legal under Company Law introduced by Fine Gael and Labour. The law allows workers to be shafted while the protected elites make massive profits,” Adams stated.
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Once again a litany of insider dealings and conflicts of interest results in the haves and have mores making off like bandits, and ordinary working folk left with the mess. In the case of Clerys, not only have hundreds lost their jobs, but the Irish people will also have to cover their redundancies instead of the vulture capitalists.
If we keep putting the parties of big business and backhanders into power, things will NEVER change.
Gerry is 100% correct, as always.
I’m not a fan of Adams but he seems to be made of Teflon, independent newspapers have been leading the anti Adams charge now for decades, the heaviest artillery has been used to try to bring this guy down but they haven’t managed to take a chink outta him , writers have fired everything in their arsenals at him but he’s still standing, this fella is a survivor
Adams stands up and fights for himself, the people who elected him and every citizen of this Country. Where as Enda Kenny stands up for money and DOB and when shit hits the fan he goes into hiding and can’t be found..
Well said Comrade Garland.
Paddy that speaks loudly about his party and supporters. it’s frightening what some people are prepared to ignore
Doesn’t make it right Paddy.
@jane of course it doesn’t …but I’m just stating facts, this guy seems invincible, gay Byrne wouldn’t shake his hand, play writer Hugh Leonard called him a murderer and a hypocrit on live television, he walked into Antrim police station last year and stayed 3 nights when police said they wanted to question him about some stuff in his past life, they didn’t get anything on him, attempts have been made to shoot him, the media have been using the name of poor Jean mc’convill to to try and smear him and none of any of these attempts to nail him have worked, hes obviously a very clever individual otherwise he would have sank a long time ago. I think his secret is that he’s good at the old bovine scatholigy, if your good at the b.s in Ireland it can take you a long way.
I don’t understand how people can look past what he did with what he knew about his brother. Other things can be explained away to some extent but not that. It seems like our enthusiasm to punish FG/Lab has overshadowed everything else.
Jerry Adams is right about the Golden Circle in this country. The same names keep cropping up all the time as the drivers and beneficiaries in these deals. KMPG and NAMA are up to their necks in the Clery’s debacle as well. Insider dealing seems to be endemic under FG.
To blame KPMG is an illustration of not understanding what their role is. The are just being used as an accounting service. It is the same as blaming the people who will deal with the liquidation of stock. They are paid for a service.
Unless you know all about your pension you may very well be benefitting from the venture capitalists.
KPMG are a great bunch of lads .
Kal:Former NAMA and KMPG execs feature in this Clery’s scandal. Would you like to explain their role in it?
Blue shirt corruption and Labour party facilitation….
Siptu banging their drum when the jobs are gone after their political wing, Labour, has sold workers out.
Leave siptu now..
Jack O’Connor showed up at the protest outside Clerys. He was jeered away with people singing ‘hit the road jack’.
Just goes to show how delusional the man is, he actually thought there was a photo op there instead of ridicule.
A few years ago, when SIPTU were against austerity they organised a big protest in Dublin. Jack took to the stage and was jeered and booed, he could not even speak. Soon after that, SIPTU signed up to the IrishWater scam. Completely out of touch.
There is no flaw in company law, its all working as planned by FG+Labour who are doing their best to help their very wealthy friends.
Well said. The Irish state whether governed by FF or FG/Labour has always primarily served the interests of domestic and foreign capital over the welfare of the majority citizens. This was demonstrated very starkly in the bank collapse and bailout.
It’s only when the majority labour class flexes it’s muscled collectively that the scales move in our favour. The Water charges (banker tax) campaign is a current example of this.
2 Waddler….then will will live happly in a socialist “workers” paradise,…….. now where did I hear that before???
I am sure better educated than I will fill in the answer!
Sinn Féin will deliver a 32 county socialist paradise.
Bill
We’d be living in a nightmare if not for the labour movement and socialism generally. How do you imagine universal healthcare and education, social welfare, retirement benefits, 40 hour working week, workplace safety standards etc etc etc were achieved? Or do you imagine they were gifted to us by the parasitic capitalist class which we see devouring the carcass of Clerys?
KPMG AkA Bearing Point are bringing us Eircodes the Postcode fook up that is really a billing code for Irish Water
Ideally KPMG in Ireland, should be wound up, and in no circumstances should it get business from the State. This country is rotten to the core, and nothing has changed since the crash. It’s worse if anything.
KPMG/NAMA/IBRC. If you were in a place to investigate the trading that has been going on and where all these ex-employees currently work it might shock you. But there seems to be no one interested in investigating insider trading and sharp business practices. I’m sure this isn’t the last scandal of the year that we will hear them involved in. Meanwhile our health service is being cut to shreds and privatised. There won’t be much left for a new government to take over.
Deja vu, it doesn’t matter if they are wound down, remember what happened when Arthur Anderson (then one of the Big 5 accountancy firms) were the auditors for Enron. Most of the employees were dispersed and found employment within the other accountancy firms and brought their “skillset” with them. Some really interesting comments on this article attacking the messenger. I wonder who that Fine Gael Attorney General was….that’s private bankers for you they know all the tricks…
Company law sees people as units of labour and nothing more. There’s something fundamentally ducked somewhere..
Probably why there is another law called Employment Law to cover your concerns. Company Law is about companies.
It’s time Gerry started to show the Labour party some respect and give them their full title, SLAVE LABOUR! no one has done so much to erode the rights of the workers!
It seems at the moment only 130 staff directly employed by Clerys have lost their jobs, the other 330 concession staff would in most instances by directly empoyed by the concessions themselves and not Clerys. The concession holders may be able to relocate some staff to other shops/concessions, all the 330 concession jobs may not be lost yet, some could be saved
Adams pontificating about morals is quite sick.
Pat Lyons: Someone sitting in Dail Eireann has to have some. FG/Lab/FF sold their morals to the highest, or any bidder, a long long time ago.
Any opinion to offer on company law pat?
of Clerys was in belfast it would have been burned to the ground.
The Clerys debacle is an example of corporate chicanery of an advanced level.
All professional services providers involved should be named and shamed.
SIPTU need to fund a determined legal challenge. There are at least 7 different grounds of potential legal challenge. letting away the corporate miscreants and vulture opportunists is not unavoidable.
I can see some High Court judges being sympathetic to the plight of the direct employees and even the concession employees are not without significant legal rights, if they can afford to enforce them.
There was nothing advanced about it.
People legally bought an asset, people legally sold an asset. A fundamental mechanism of commerce at all levels.
Gerry Adams is playing to the gallery.
Is he going to introduce a law that requires judicial review of proposed sales of anything?
If he seriously has a proposal to make I’d love to hear it. Otherwise it is just cynical bandwagonry typical of Sinn Fein.
the british government couldnt bring him down so id be very surprised if a wee shite from mayo could do it..and he tried very hard
Will the Sunday Independent stand against and name and shame the Golden circle or do they not want to go against their own- any wonder they are so opposed to Adams-
I know I’ll get lambasted for this but I genuinely want to know how ye can look past how Gerry handled what his brother did. I understand that you could argue what happened as regards the North was in a time of war and there were atrocities on both sides and the IRA and Sinn Fein were fighting for the rights of Catholics. This is a young girl who was repeatedly raped by her monster of a father, Gerry Adams knew and still appointed him to a cuman. I don’t understand how so many can look past this.
And the sale of the IRBC loans to shoreline
it’s good to see sf moved totally away from closing shops down and making people unemployed, by using firebombs.
Quick look at the past .
if we look at the past we will see ff/fg/sf where all born out of the ira.
I’m not a Shinner but I think that Adams is the best politician on this planet. I am not a Shinner but I think that SF are light years ahead of any other political party. I am not a Shinner but I think that if we voted them into power we would all be rich overnight. I am not a Shinner but SF could create a utopian existence. I am not a Shinner but I believe that there is and never has been any connection between SF and the IRA. I am not a Shinner but I believe that SF is the party of peace. I am not a Shinner but I believe that FG, FF and Labour are totally corrupt parties. I am not a Shinner but I believe that all Unionists are evil. I am not a Shinner but I believe that the British are responsible for all of our troubles in our past and will be responsible for all of our troubles in the future. I am not a Shinner but I believe that the north of Ireland and the south of Ireland should be united just like North and South America. I am one of those undecided voters and I believe that we will have a major influence in the formation of the next government.
I am not a Shinner but I agree with everything you said.
Shinner, I appreciate your support.
Alri willy Frazer you ould grump
Gerry was quick to see the Cleary’s bandwagon passing – and quick to jump on.
If he missed it he really would need new glasses and a hearing aid
SF/IRA have their multiple Twitter account in full action from headquarters today!!
Haha SF/IRA is a thing often used by trolls, there’s a sense of irony in what you’re saying there mate
Not to mention that Der Fuhrer Kenny made a statement on it 24 hours ago, another band wagoner huh
Todd – What an articulate posting!
Dave – I would not be up-to-date on Gerry’s medical conditions. Then again his medical records are in the US!
Not only are you a troll, but a piss poor one at that. At least Diarmuid can provoke outrage
fg/ira have looked after the golden circle well this term, it will be interesting to see what line of business the will go into after the next general election. the wont get re-elected after the revelations over the last few months.
Gerry Adams is to killer as Dennis O’Brien is to corrupt.
Insightful
If you voted for FF and FG before you’re no different, both war parties founded during a civil war.
Is there a difference between closing down a shop and blowing up a shop?
Pat Lyons: is there a difference in being stupid and ignorant, as in your case?
massive different if one happened pre 94.
it was a fair question pat aked dave.
asked
about 21 years and an internatio ally recognised peace agreement! !!
No it wasn’t Paul Dunne. It is no more than the usual anti SF, anti Gerry Adams rant from a tunnel visioned mired in the past troll.
tap sit back and enjoy your bitter lemon tea, or is it bitter orange?
The issue is not company law but the lack of foresight following the initial bailout an write down of debt. In return, certain guarantees should have been written into the deal to prevent successive owners benefitting unduly from previous largesse. I find it amazing that in any event there is no legal recourse for Ricardo employees. The concessions are in their own boat and have to row accordingly
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