Administrators of Quinn Insurance reduce fees

The joint administrators of Quinn Insurance Ltd have cut the budget for their work next year by between 40 and 50 per cent, the president of the High Court, Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns, was told yesterday.

The reductions include a cut in the fees charged by the administrators’ own firm, Grant Thornton accountants. Its fee for 2013 is expected to be 57 per cent of the €1.4 million it charged for 19 months of last year.

Hourly rates for partners in Grant Thornton – which range from €400 to €550 depending on the complexity of the work – will be limited to €375.

Fees for other staff, ranging from €50 to €290 an hour, will be charged at the lowest rates for each of those categories of staff.

There is to be a reduction of 15 per cent in legal fees, which will be backdated to December 2011.

Last month Mr Justice Kearns cut cut by 25 per cent the €480 an hour fees sought by the administrator of insurance company Icarom, formerly the Insurance Corporation of Ireland, which collapsed in the 1980s leading to the insurance levy being imposed.