McNamara debt is pursued through sheriff's office

THE SEIZURE of art and other valuables from the Ailesbury Road home of developer Bernard McNamara came on foot of a warrant to the Dublin City Sheriff’s Office for the collection a €2.152 million debt arising from a property deal.

Two out of five people who were granted a judgment against Mr McNamara in 2008 are seeking to have the debt paid through the sheriff’s office, according to a source familiar with the matter. The other three for whom the judgment order was made decided they did not want to go along with the move.

The sheriff’s office is now holding goods of an uncertain value seized from Mr McNamara’s home and will have to establish that he is the sole owner of the goods.

Any valuables known to belong solely to Mr McNamara will then be put up for sale in an effort to recoup funds for his creditors. One source said a car may already have been seized from the former multi-millionaire.

The sheriff’s office was acting on foot of a warrant dated June 12th, 2008, for the collection of €2,152,818, a filing from the office shows.

The office usually notifies a debtor of the fact that it has a warrant and, if arrangements for the repayment of the debt cannot be agreed, can call on the person’s home or property and seize assets.

The debt is being pursued on behalf of Gary Smith, owner of the Submarine pub in Crumlin, Dublin, and Ivor Dougan, a native of Northern Ireland, who project-managed the Jervis Street Centre development in Dublin.

In December 2008 a case taken by Mr Dougan, Mr Smith, Pascal Taggart, Terry Cooney and Shane Taggart was struck out in the Commercial Court after the court was told the matter had been settled with Mr McNamara.

However, the case was re-entered last February and in May an execution order was issued. A judgment mortgage certificate was also issued, allowing for the registration of the debt against property belonging to Mr McNamara. The effect of the order is that the property concerned cannot be sold without the debt being settled.

Pascal and Shane Taggart and Mr Cooney are understood to have decided not to go ahead with the pursuit of the debt and did not take part in the re-entry of the case in February.

The debt arises from a plan to develop a shopping centre in the area of the Westbury Hotel and surrounding streets. Mr McNamara was a 76 per cent shareholder in the deal and contracted to buy the others out. However, he found it difficult to raise the finance to close the deal.

After the 2008 settlement, he paid €5 million but was unable to pay the remaining €2.5 million when it came due this January.

The €2.15 million figure is understood to be the amount of that debt that is due to Mr Smith and Mr Dougan.

None of the parties involved could be contacted for comment.

Mr McNamara was one of the most high-profile property developers during the boom years. In January, he told RTÉ radio he was “broke” after a group of Davy investors secured a €62.5 million judgment against him.