The Revenue Commissioners, in a bid to get payment of a revenue debt, has secured temporary High Court orders restraining one of Ireland’s largest animal welfare charities reducing its assets below €191,000 or transferring its lands to another charity., based in Co Kerry, and were made against the trustees of the charity. Mr Justice Senan Allen granted the interim orders on Thursday and returned the matter to next week.
Earlier, in seeking the injunctions, Sally O’Neill BL, for Revenue, said the €191,000 represented the figure for the charity’s liabilities as set out in a statement of affairs, the bulk of which, about €145,000, was owed to Revenue. It seemed it was intended to transfer the AHAR lands to another charity and she was seeking the injunction restraining such transfer in circumstances where Revenue last Monday sought but had not received an undertaking not to dissipate assets until the Revenue debt was discharged.
Ms O’Neill said audits of the charity carried out by the Revenue for 2015 and 2016 had uncovered cash withdrawals and payments for €149,071 with no records concerning those. There were also serious incidents of non-compliance with PAYE and PRSI, she said.