MountBellew Mart in Co. Galway will reopen for business again on Saturday (February 18) following a decision by the president of the High Court to restore its licence.
President David Barniville told the court today (Thursday, February 16) that a sum of €183,000 had been raised in the local community to clear a “deficit” at the mart due to historical debt relating to the years 2011 to 2012, and that this sum would be be held in the account to ensure it remained in credit.
The Property Services Regulatory Authority (PSRA) had brought legal proceedings against Mountbellew Mart in east Galway in relation to irregularities which it had identified following an audit of the mart.
The PSRA, which was established in 2012, is the statutory body with responsibility for licensing and regulating the property services sector in Ireland.
Mountbellew Mart was established as a cooperative in July 1989 and it requires a licence from the PSRA to trade. According to the mart, it has been running sheep sales since 1989 and cattle sales from 1986.
Progress by Mountbellew Mart
President Barniville said today that he was satisfied that “substantial progress” had been made since the order was issued to temporarily suspend the mart’s licence and that a “meeting of minds” had been reached between the mart’s committee members and the PSRA.
The president of the High Court said that Mountbellew Mart had given eight undertakings to the PSRA, which were read out in court, which he would accept.
These included an undertaking to ensure that the sums raised to address the deficit would remain in a client account and that similar circumstances in relation to a deficit would not be allowed to develop again.
Mountbellew Mart has also given a commitment to seek the services of an expert business consultant who will assist the mart to develop business plans to manage cashflow and it will also seek the services of an independent third-party accountant.
The PSRA agreed to the conditions, but noted in court, that this acceptance would not prejudice any ongoing licence renewal processes.
A number of Mountbellew Mart’s committee members, who attended the High Court hearing today, told Agriland that the mart would reopen for business at 8:00a.m on Saturday (February 18).
“This mart was formed by the community and we’re sustained by the community,” a committee member said.
“The mart is the community and when it is closed it affects the community big time, so they have felt the pinch as well as the mart. It was great that the community supported us in this.
“It’s great that we have this resolved today, we have undertakings that we are going to adhere to. We have made a commitment which we will keep to,” they added.
A further motion on the case has been listed in the High Court for May 19.