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Deirdre Foley, the businesswoman associated with the purchase of the Clerys building in Dublin, is facing criminal charges arising from the collective redundancies at the former department store.
She is facing three counts of breaking the protection of employment law as well as one of impeding a Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) inspector.
Two other executives associated with the 2015 deal, as well as the previous owners of Clerys, OCS Operations Ltd (in liquidation), and Natrium Ltd, which took over the building, are also facing charges. None of the defendants have entered a plea.
When the case had its first listing at Dublin District Court on Monday, Breffni Gordon BL, for the prosecution, told Judge John Brennan the charges had been instituted by the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, and the WRC.
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OCS Operations ran Clerys department store from 2012 until it petitioned the High Court for liquidation on June 12th, 2015.
Collective redundancies followed in which 460 people lost their jobs. Of these, 130 were directly employed by Clerys, Mr Gordon said.
Ms Foley, of Hollybank Avenue Upper Ranelagh, Dublin 6, who has a 20 per cent share in Natrium, faces one count under the Workplace Relations Act alleging that it was with her consent or connivance that Natrium impeded a WRC inspector.
Three other charges
Three other charges against her under the Protection of Employment Act are for allegedly failing to initiate consultations with representatives of employees, failing to supply employee representatives with all relevant information relating to redundancies, and not notifying the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation in writing, on June 12th, 2015, the date of the Clerys takeover.
OCS Operations is facing three charges under the Protection of Employment Act.
Natrium, which is co-owned by Ms Foley and UK-based Cheyne Capital Management, is accused of obstructing or impeding a WRC inspector on June 27th last year at 25-28 North Wall Quay, the company’s address.
Mark Redmond, of Belfry Dale, Citywest Road, Saggart, Co Dublin, an employee of a D2 Private Ltd, a firm owned by Ms Foley, faces the same charges as Ms Foley under the Protection of Employment Act as does Brendan Cooney, a director of OCS Operations Ltd, with an address at Weirview Drive, Stillorgan, Co Dublin
Mr Cooney also faces a charge under the Workplace Relations Act for giving false or misleading information to an inspector.