Faxhill auditor set for court

The Tβnaiste is prosecuting a case against the auditor of Faxhill Homes, the Kildare building firm which worked on the homes of Mr Ben Dunne and former minister Mr Michael Lowry. The case against Kildare accountant Mr Declan Long opens in Naas District Court on October 8th before Judge Thomas Fitzpatrick and is scheduled to last a week. Mr Long faces two charges under sections 19 and 194 of the Companies Act 1990, which deal respectively with producing books to an authorised officer and the obligations of an auditor in cases where proper books of account are not being kept.

The latter section covers circumstances in which an auditor must notify the Registrar of Companies that proper books of account are not being kept. It is the first time a charge under the section has been brought against an auditor which could lead to maximum fines of £1,000.

In May, Faxhill Homes and directors Mr Jack Tierney and Ms Jennifer Tierney of Newbridge, Co Kildare, were fined £700 (€889) and ordered to pay £10,000 in costs after they pleaded guilty to several offences, including failure to keep proper books and records of transactions, lack of compliance in keeping details of debenture holders, and failure to produce books and documents. The case lasted 13 days and heard that invoices connected with work on the houses of Mr Lowry and Mr Dunne had been filled out incorrectly, purporting that the work had been done on Dunnes Stores premises. Faxhill Homes built a £390,000 extension to Mr Lowry's house in Co Tipperary.