RTÉ channelled Tubridy payments through UK firm - report

Capping off a week of revelations, the Sunday Times details the mechanism by which RTÉ arranged for salary top-ups totalling €150,000 to be paid to Ryan Tubridy.

The national broadcaster allegedly told its star presenter’s agent, Noel Kelly, to send invoices to a British media company, Astus. The payments, reports the paper, were “organised by RTÉ”, which arranged for the creation of the invoices labelled as “consultancy services” before being settled on the broadcaster’s behalf by Astus.

The €150,000 was paid out in lieu of sums that were originally to be paid by Late Late Show sponsor Renault before it pulled out of its arrangement with the broadcaster. RTÉ told Mr Kelly not to use any names on the invoices, which were generated on behalf of a company he controls, according to the report, and Mr Tubridy’s name was not on any of the paperwork.

While there is no suggestion of wrongdoing on the part of London-based Astus, the payments are at the centre of the widening controversy engulfing the national broadcaster.

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Singaporean bidders in pole position to buy Park Hotel

Also in the Sunday Times, the Singaporean duo behind the Sheen Falls Hotel in Kenmare, Co Kerry are reportedly in pole position to snap up the nearby Park Hotel from John and Francis Brennan.

Stanley Quek and Peng Loh were said to be interested in the property before it was officially put on the market with a €17 million guide price last month, the same price their company, Mayrange, paid for Sheen Falls in 2019.

“The Singaporean hoteliers have been active in the market over the past 12 months,” the paper reports, having agreed to pay €20 million for Tulfarris Hotel in Co Wicklow last year. They also paid €5 million for the Ring of Kerry Golf Club in Templenoe, Co Kerry and are said to be interested in adding other luxury properties to their stable.

Issues with Fair Deal scheme dampen nursing home investments

The chief executive of one of Ireland’s largest nursing home groups has blamed the Government’s failure to reform the Fair Deal scheme for a funding crisis in the sector that threatens to choke further investment.

The Sunday Independent reports that Silverstream is no longer prepared to invest in the sector here amid a deepening crisis. Citing a PwC report on the sector last month, Tom Finn, chief executive of the Waterland-backed group, said that there is already a day-to-day running-cost crisis with steep rises in operating expenses – including food and energy – over the past year.

“On the development side,” he said, “the cost of building a 100-bed nursing home – due to building inflation and the cost of land – is now up to €2.5 million more than the building is worth.”

Liquidator mulls probe into collapsed crypto firm

The Sunday Independent also reports that the liquidator of a collapsed crypto firm cofounded by the grandson of former Nama developer Paddy Kelly has identified “serious issues” at the company that could warrant a criminal investigation.

According to the report, accountant Joseph Walsh, who was appointed as liquidator to Gigabyte Investments earlier this year, said this week that he is “engaging with the relevant authorities” over the matter.

The company, cofounded by 23-year-old James Kelly and a schoolfriend, is believed to have lost €930,000 put into it by some 25 investors.

Solar 21 spent less than 50% of funds on energy plant project

Finally, The Business Post reports that troubled renewables firm Solar 21 spent less than 50 per cent of the funds it raised for the construction of an energy-from-waste plant in Yorkshire on the project itself, with most of the funds covering management fees and project fees to related companies.

That’s according to a report presented to the High Court by accountant Barry Robinson of BDO, who was appointed by a group of 32 brokers to investigate the company.

Through a network of brokers, Solar 21 raised some €242 million for the project by issuing unregulated loan notes. The brokers, some of whom are also investors in the company, are trying to get answers about the cancellation of the development project late last year after the company informed them throughout 2020 and 2021 that it was on track to exit its obligations.