Bóthar dispute with former chief adjourned for two weeks by High Court

A dispute between the Bóthar charity and its former chief executive David Moloney has been adjourned for two weeks at the High Court.

Last week, Bóthar, whose activities include aiding poor farmers in developing nations through donations of livestock, secured a temporary High Court injunction freezing the assets of Mr Moloney, who resigned as chief executive in February.

Ms Justice Nuala Butler also ordered Mr Moloney, who joined Bóthar in 1995 and held the post of chief executive for eight years, not to reduce his assets below a value of €465,000.

The orders were made on an ex parte basis (one side represented only) and the judge heard Mr Moloney of Clino, Newport, Co Tipperary, denies all allegations of wrongdoing.

Bóthar claims an ongoing investigation into his conduct has revealed he is “guilty of an egregious breach of trust and an appalling dereliction of his duty to Bóthar and the beneficiaries of its charitable objects”.

Last Thursday, Frank Beatty SC, for Bóthar, said its investigations to date have shown that at least €465,000 of monies donated to the charity had been misappropriated by Mr Moloney.

Injunctions

When the case returned before Mr Justice Senan Allen on Monday, he was told the sides had agreed it could be adjourned for two weeks with the injunctions to continue in the interim.

Mr Moloney, represented by Marguerite Bolger SC, has undertaken not to delete data on devices and not to seek to draw down his pension, the court heard.

Mr Beatty said, if Mr Moloney provides more documents sought by the charity, it would consider addressing the matter via the alternative dispute resolution (ADR) procedure but not via mediation because his side wants a transparent, rather than confidential, process.

If progress is not made in relation to the ADR process, counsel said he would be seeking a hearing date.

Last week, the court heard, in light of everything that has happened, and its decision to commence High Court proceedings, Bóthar has decided to cease all of its fundraising activities with immediate effect.