The Circuit Civil Court has seized the assets of a tile company whose owner disobeyed court orders relating to the unauthorised use of a two-acre park in Dartmouth Square, Dublin.
Mr Justice Esmond Smyth told Noel O'Gara he would not send him to prison "yet" for being in contempt of court, but directed that Deloitte & Touche be appointed sequestrator over the assets of Marble and Granite Tiles Ltd.
Carol O'Farrell for Dublin City Council said that Deloitte & Touche would seize the firm's assets until all court orders were complied with. Any rents or profits would be held by Deloitte & Touche until Mr O'Gara and his firm had complied with the law.
The judge had been asked to make this ruling because Mr O'Gara, who had unsuccessfully stood in the general election in four constituencies under the banner of The Planning Reform Party, had failed to obey several orders made by Judge Jacqueline Linnane, which had directed him to remove caravans from the park and had restrained him from using the park for commercial purposes.
The judge said that he was satisfied that Mr O'Gara, who was also secretary of his company, had knowingly failed to comply with the court orders. He put a stay of 10 days on the sequestration order to allow Mr O'Gara time to appeal it to the High Court.
Mr O'Gara, during an earlier application to commit him to prison and to sequestrate his tile company's assets, had given the court an undertaking that he would do all he could to get the caravan out of the park.