- with reporting from Ray Managh
Dublin Port Company (DPC) has claimed that a transport and warehousing firm has breached a court order by failing to vacate a site needed to deal with the impact of Brexit.
As a result of the alleged breach, the state-owned DPC is seeking orders from the High Court that could result in the committal to prison of one of McQuaid O’Flanagan Warehousing and Transport Ltd's directors and the seizure of that company's property.
DPC had previously brought proceedings in the Commercial Court against a number of parties aimed at securing possession of a site at Tolka Quay, which is located about 600m south of the Port Tunnel.
IPDC intends to use the site as one of its truck parks and customs, immigration, agricultural inspection posts after Brexit.
The property had been mainly occupied by McQuaid O’Flanagan which had a lease with the former owners of the site.
DPC bought the site in January from the former owners and said McQuaid O’Flanagan’s lease on 3.7-hectare site expired last November.
DPC had sought various orders against a number of parties that had been on the site, including one preventing McQuaid O’Flanagan trespassing or otherwise interfering with its right to take possession.
Those proceedings were resolved on consent in March. As part of that agreement, Mr Justice Robert Haughton made an order requiring the defendant to vacate the property in tranches.
The site was to be fully vacated by McQuaid O'Flannagan by the end of July.
The case returned before Mr Justice David Keane at Wednesday's vacation sitting of the High Court when lawyers for DPC said that McQuaid O'Flanagan was in contempt of the order made in March.
The defendant had not left the property and remained "in situ," and in correspondence, the defendant company had said it would not be able to vacate the site until September.
