A PLANT HIRE firm owned by independent Kerry TD Danny Healy-Rae is sitting on profits of more than €700,000, new documents show.
Recently filed accounts for Healy-Rae Plant Hire Limited show that the company – which rents machinery to construction contractors – declared a profit of just over €30,700 last year, a six-fold increase on 2015′s tally.
By the end of December last year, accumulated profits at the Kilgarvan-based firm had swelled to nearly €716,000.
According to the documents, the company is majority owned by Danny Healy-Rae. His wife, Eileen, owns a minority stake in the outfit.
The husband and wife are listed as directors of the company alongside their son, Kerry county councillor Johnny Healy-Rae.
Directors’ remuneration dipped last year from €45,000 in 2015 to €37,500.
State contracts
An Irish Times investigation published earlier this year revealed that Healy-Rae Plant Hire has earned €8.7 million in state and county council contracts since 1999.
The newspaper reported in August that the Kerry TD’s firm won contracts worth €7 million from Kerry County Council in the last 17 years and more than €1.6 million from Irish Water since it was set up in 2013.
According to the newspaper, the plant hire company earned over €200,000 from council contracts last year alone.
Healy-Rae, who is also a publican, has attracted considerable media attention since he was elected to Dáil Éireann in 2016 alongside his brother, Michael.
Since taking his seat in Leinster House, Danny Healy-Rae has questioned climate change science, suggesting that only “God above” can take charge of the issue. He has also expressed controversial views on drink driving limits.
Written by Conor McMahon and posted on Fora.ie
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