THE PRESIDENT of the High Court has cut by 25 per cent the €480 per hour fees sought by the administrator of insurance company Icarom plc and also cut the average €330 hourly fees for his staff after noting “a great deal of public disquiet at the level of fees charged for this type of work”. The fees sought were not objected to by the Central Bank.
ICI was placed in administration in 1985, when William McCann was appointed administrator. In 1990, ICI changed its name to Icarom plc and Mr O’Connor was appointed administrator. Donal O’Connor was appointed Icarom administrator in 1990 and, after he retired in 2008 as a partner in accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers in 2008, the Department of Finance agreed he would continue in that role with the assistance of PwC staff.
For 2011, Mr O’Connor claimed about €291,000, plus VAT, as remuneration for himself and his staff for some 794 hours worked. That included €96,480 personal remuneration for 201 hours worked. Other reports indicated some €400,000 was being retained to cover the remuneration of the administrator and his staff for the period from February 8th, 2011, to January 10th, 2012.
In the report for the period to the end of 2011, the administrator said he was hopeful a successful transaction could be completed in 2012 and work was continuing to resolve two remaining key issues.