Seven years ago, in September 2018, the Government approached a company called Brimwood Ltd asking for help to secure extra accommodation in hotels and B & Bs for asylum seekers.
While the number of international protection applicants arriving in Ireland was significantly lower at that time when compared with today – nearly 6,000 in 2018 compared with almost 33,000 in 2025 – the State’s direct provision system had reached full capacity and needed temporary additional beds.
Brimwood Ltd, which is now unlimited and so does not have to publish financial accounts where it might show the profits it makes, is run by Séamus ‘Banty’ McEnaney and his two daughters Sarah and Laura. It is just one of a number of companies owned by the wider McEnaney family which provide accommodation for asylum seekers and homeless people.
Before 2018, McEnaney’s name was synonymous with Monaghan GAA, but these days, the businessman is more likely to be associated with the State’s asylum system.
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How did McEnaney build up his property empire and how much have his family’s companies earned through the provision of emergency accommodation?
And who is to blame for the lucrative contracts being paid to secure this accommodation – private operators or the Government?
Today, on In The News, how one family earned millions from housing refugees and homeless people.
Irish Times reporters Colm Keena and Sorcha Pollak discuss their investigation into the McEnaney family’s earnings and how the State has become so reliant on private operators to house refugees and the homeless.
Presented by Aideen Finnegan. Produced by Suzanne Brennan, Andrew McNair and John Casey.
