{"id":147325,"date":"2025-11-19T00:25:08","date_gmt":"2025-11-19T00:25:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/147325\/"},"modified":"2025-11-19T00:25:08","modified_gmt":"2025-11-19T00:25:08","slug":"meath-homebuyers-fear-for-future-after-liquidator-appointed-to-housing-estate-developer-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/147325\/","title":{"rendered":"Meath homebuyers fear for future after liquidator appointed to housing estate developer \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cDo not close the door on me, I\u2019m pregnant,\u201d said Elma Beirne as she and \u00c1ontu<\/a> leader Peadar T\u00f3ib\u00edn<\/a> attempted to hold open the door of a small room in the Royal Marine Hotel in D\u00fan Laoghaire, Dublin<\/a> on Tuesday morning.<\/p>\n

The hallway outside was full of Co Meath<\/a> politicians, journalists, and five would-be homeowners, including Ms Beirne, who paid deposits for houses in the Ringfort Estate in Rathmoylon, Meath, five years ago. <\/p>\n

However, the appointment of a liquidator to the developer on Tuesday has put their money and future homes at risk. <\/p>\n

Initially denied entry to a creditors\u2019 meeting, those in the hall outside were ultimately allowed entry, with the exception of a stenographer hired by the buyers, and press photographers.<\/p>\n

Of the 15 buyers who signed contracts and paid deposits of \u20ac27,500 to \u20ac30,000, just five remain hopeful their contracts will be honoured.<\/p>\n

In 2023, they were asked by developer Meathamatic Ltd to pay an additional \u20ac60,000 after the company blamed rising construction costs and interest rates, and although the buyers say the houses are now completed and connected to utilities, they remain unoccupied.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe current net real estate value of the development is \u20ac6.38 million. Photograph: Dara Mac D\u00f3naill\/The Irish Times <\/p>\n

In the latest development, a creditors\u2019 meeting was called for Tuesday to appoint a liquidator for Meathamatic.<\/p>\n

At the top of the room sat Joe Elias, Meathamatic\u2019s director, who, at one point, remarked that he was \u201cnot a property developer\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have never developed property in my life, I\u2019m not a home builder,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

A US software entrepreneur and qualified medical doctor, Mr Elias told those present: \u201cI will lose a lot of money on this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Outlining his decision to place Meathamatic into liquidation, he said a 2024 Revenue audit found that the contract between the company and MDS Construction, the builder, had not been registered, and a \u201csignificant tax liability arose\u201d.<\/p>\n

Revenue \u201cinsisted\u201d on the VAT being repaid in full, \u201cwhich we were unable to do\u201d, he said, adding: \u201cWe had no alternative but to wind the company.\u201d<\/p>\n

Representing the buyers, Damien Harper of PUC Consultants argued on the basis of the statement of affairs provided to attendees. The statement noted the current net real estate value of the Ringfort Estate as \u20ac6.38 million. <\/p>\n

Meathamatic was incorporated in June 2019 to develop the estate, Mr Elias said, after he was approached by Mark Flynn and Peter Finn of MDS Construction.<\/p>\n

After purchasing the site for about \u20ac550,000, \u20ac1.8 million was borrowed from the State-owned Home Building Finance Ireland (HBFI) to fund the development, he said.<\/p>\n

However, HBFI became \u201cconcerned about how slow the development was progressing\u201d and ultimately indicated it would like to \u201ccall the loan in\u201d, he said.<\/p>\n

In June 2023, Spudmuckers Ltd, of which Mr Elias is the director and which he described as an \u201cinvestment vehicle\u201d, took over as the secure creditor.<\/p>\n

Mr Elias\u2019s wife, Donna Marie Sagba, was previously a director of Spudmuckers, but resigned in December 2023.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe houses in the the Ringfort estate in Rathmolyon, Co Meath. Photograph: Dara Mac D\u00f3naill\/The Irish Times <\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re the borrower, the lender, and if you believe your own narrative, you\u2019re the biggest injured party here, it\u2019s like the unholy trinity,\u201d Mr Harper said.<\/p>\n

During the meeting, Mr Harper nominated Myles Kirby as liquidator, though this was defeated in favour of Colin Gaynor of Resolute Advisory, who was appointed by Mr Elias.<\/p>\n

Speaking after the meeting, Mr Harper said those who paid deposits are \u201cnot guaranteed anything at this stage\u201d, being unsecured creditors, while the houses are likely to be sold at current market value.<\/p>\n

However, the five buyers remain hopeful their contracts would be honoured through the liquidation process.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s only five of us left, he can still sell the other eleven houses at whatever price he wants. We\u2019re asking for justice, for someone to work with us, and just to be reasonable and fair,\u201d said Ms Beirne, who paid a deposit in 2020 and signed a contract with her husband John Ennis.<\/p>\n

Speaking after the meeting, Mr Harper said there are \u201cserious questions to be answered\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019d be looking for possibly the Revenue Commissioners to make an application to court to appoint Mr Kirby as liquidator,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cDo not close the door on me, I\u2019m pregnant,\u201d said Elma Beirne as she and \u00c1ontu leader Peadar…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":147326,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[16253,72,615,3662,61,60,15949,17861],"class_list":{"0":"post-147325","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-aontu","9":"tag-business","10":"tag-dublin","11":"tag-housing-crisis","12":"tag-ie","13":"tag-ireland","14":"tag-meath","15":"tag-peadar-toibin"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147325","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=147325"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147325\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/147326"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=147325"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=147325"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=147325"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}