An investigation into the closure of Castleblayney Mart in Co. Monaghan may be pursued by the Property Services Regulatory Authority (PSRA).
When contacted by AgriLand, the PSRA confirmed that it was aware of the recent liquidation of Edward Paul Nugent Ltd – the company which operated Castleblayney Mart.
Reports emerged in March that the mart had run into difficulties and that sales scheduled to take place towards the end of that month were cancelled. In the following month, a liquidator was appointed to Edward Paul Nugent Ltd.
In a statement, the PSRA said: “The company was formerly licensed by the authority, but fell out of licence cover during 2017.
“This information is, and has at all relevant times been, in the public domain via the Register of Licensed Property Services Providers – which is published on the authority’s website.
For operational reasons, the PSRA does not comment on individual investigations which it may conduct.
As well as this, the authority stated that providing property services without a licence is an offence under Section 28 of the Property Services (Regulation) Act 2011.
It “strongly advises” clients and prospective clients of property service providers to check that their provider is licensed at all times.
Despite the fact that the licence held by Edward Paul Nugent Ltd expired in 2017, the company continued trading.
Continuing, the authority said: “In cases where it is suspected [that] a business is providing a property service without a licence, it is open to the authority to pursue an investigation into an alleged offence and [it] may pursue a prosecution on completion of the investigation – where concrete evidence of trading without a licence is found.”