SUBCONTRACTORS:WORKERS ON a McNamara construction site have been left without pay for four months of labour after the company passed into receivership late Thursday evening.

Subcontractor Pat Harte said he was told as late as 4.30pm on Thursday that Michael McNamara and Co would pay his company on Friday the €200,000 it owes him for work on Tallaght Institute of Technology.

However, Mr Harte, whose employees have been extending the Synergy building on campus since July, was subsequently informed of the receivership later that evening.

“McNamara’s QS (quantity surveyor) told me about 7pm and just said that the company had gone into receivership and that he didn’t know what the story was in terms of us getting the payment we’re due.

“There was absolutely no word of any of this coming, the first we heard anything about it was last night. We had kept on being told that we were going to get paid this Friday.

“We’ve been working since July and we’ve done all the groundwork,” he said.

Mr Harte does not expect the receiver to pay his firm, P Harte and Co Ltd, anything as the debt was not secured.

“McNamara’s were telling us all along that they would pay us,” he explained.

“We had been promised our money today and now we are likely to get nothing as we had no security,” he said.

Mr Harte additionally added that he would have to rely on the co-operation of his own suppliers in order to remain in business as a result.

His firm was carrying out ground work on the site, a job which he said yesterday was 95 per cent finished.

“We would have put between €50,000 and €60,000 worth of material into the job,” he said.

This, along with the money his company paid its staff, brought the bill to €200,000.