THE Society of St Vincent de Paul is taking advice on any steps that might be open to it to recover £185,000 which it had invested through the missing broker, Mr Tony Taylor, and which is now unaccounted for.
The missing money was part of a £0.5 million bequest which was to be used on a modernisation programme for Sunshine House, Balbriggan, Dublin, a holiday centre for disadvantaged children from the greater Dublin region.
The money was invested through the Taylor Group Ltd in 1991, following a presentation by Mr Taylor to the managers of the Sunshine Fund, which is used to run Sunshine House.
About £200,000 of the bequest has already been spent. Another £115,000 is still invested through Taylor Group and is accounted for.
"The Sushine Fund monitored the investment regularly and received detailed reports from the Taylor Group," the society said in a statement. "Funds were drawn down regularly as Sunshine's development programme progressed."
"Public monies donated to the society for its work among the disadvantaged are consistently expended on an ongoing basis."
The £185,000 was in a client file which was among a number deleted by Mr Taylor on his last day in his Clyde Road office.
The Minister of State for commerce, science and technology, Mr Pat Rabbitte, is to meet the Irish Brokers' Association (IBA) today to discuss the implications of the Taylor controversy.
Mr Rabbitte said he would like to see a more "pro active" monitoring of investment brokers.
The IBA said it had "acted swiftly and with due regard for the legal constraints under which it acts".
The whereabouts of Mr Taylor have not been known since August 9th last. On Friday last week the High Court agreed to wind up Taylor Asset Managers Ltd and appoint a provisional liquidator.
