Thurles Information

An alleged €2m fraud has been uncovered at the company that wields control of the arcade and casino business, known as Dr Quirkey’s Good Time Emporium on Dublin’s O’Connell Street.

This disclosure is contained in new consolidated accounts for Dublin Pool and Juke Box Ltd, which reveals the alleged misappropriation of funds totalled €1.009m in 2018 and €1.017m in 2019.

The business is owned by “slot-machine tycoon”, 75-year-old, Mr Richard Quirke, father in law of Rosanna Davison, latter an Irish actress, singer, writer, model and beauty queen, who was crowned Miss World back in 2003.

Our readers will remember that Mr Quirke had, back in 2009, been associated with a €460 million plan, which was promoted by Tipperary Independent TD, Mr Michael Lowry.
The plan back then was to build a massive entertainment facility which was to include a five-star 500-bedroom hotel; casino; full-size replica of the White House; an underground entertainment centre seating 15,000 people; 18-hole golf course; driving range; retail outlets; timber chapel, heliport; 6,000 car spaces; new racecourse for horses and a new greyhound track on a 325 hectare (800-acre) site, close to the village of Two-Mile-Borris, Thurles, Co Tipperary.

In December 2009, An Taisce, objecting to the plan through their heritage officer Mr Ian Lumley, suggesting that this plan was based on a “Failed International Development Model”.
Eventually, the planning body gave the casino the go-ahead in June 2011, refusing permission for the 15,000-seater “underground” music venue. However, same ran into trouble again, almost immediately, following the government announcing plans to overhaul Ireland’s gambling laws, thus blocking large, resort-style casinos.

The original planning application for this development, expired in 2018, but the developer applied for (and was granted) an extension in February 2018 (due to expire in March 2023).

To date, Mr Quirke is understood to have built up a sizeable fortune from his Dublin based casino business, with most of the company’s wealth concentrated in property.

A man, understood to be aged in his 50’s, was arrested in Tipperary Town yesterday, (Bank Holiday Monday, June 6th), following the seizure of some 5,000 tablets, latter with an estimated street value of €10,300.

Cannabis, with an estimated street value of €700, was also seized.

The man was detained by members of Tipperary Town Drugs Unit and the Divisional Crime Task Force, before being charged with the possession of the drugs intended for sale and supply.

The arrested man appeared in Thurles district court today, June 7th, before being released on bail, pending analysis, to appear in court again at a future date to be decided.

• First review in the 43 year history of the Scheme.
• Review Group to be chaired by retired Chief Justice.
• Significant consultation to be undertaken as part of the review.

The Minister for Justice, Mrs Helen McEntee, T.D., has updated Government this week on her plans to shortly commence a review of the Civil Legal Aid Scheme, as committed to in her Justice Plan, 2022.

Announcing the review, Minister McEntee said: “Since the Civil Legal Aid Scheme was first established 43 years ago, (1979), Irish society has changed and the demands on the Scheme have grown.

To provide maximum benefit to the people it was first established to serve, within the finite resources available to fund legal aid, I believe that a robust, comprehensive review of the Scheme as committed to in Justice Plan 2022 is an important step.

The review will allow for an assessment of how well access to justice is facilitated by our Civil Legal Aid Scheme, particularly for those on low incomes. The Review Group will make recommendations for its future, including in relation to eligibility”.

The Review Group will be Chaired by retired Chief Justice, Frank Clarke, with membership drawn from those who work with marginalised groups, legal practitioners, academics, Department officials and representatives from the Legal Aid Board, which administers the current Scheme.

Named Membership of the Review Group will include:
Mr. Thomas O’Mahony – Legal Aid Board nominee.
Ms. Sara Phelan SC – Bar of Ireland nominee.
Ms. Áine Hynes – Law Society nominee.
Mr. Bernard Joyce – Director of the Irish Traveller Movement.
Mr. Liam Coen – Department of Justice nominee.
Professor Niamh Hourigan – Sociologist and VP of Academic Affairs – Mary Immaculate College, Limerick.
Mr. Tom O’Malley – Senior Lecturer in Law, NUI Galway.
Professor Frances Ruane – Economist and former Director of the ESRI.
Ms. Eilis Barry – Free Legal Advice Centre (FLAC).
Department of Public Expenditure and Reform nominee – name TBC.

The Minister also highlighted how people will be able to have their say on this important issue; stating: “As part of the review process, I intend that there will be significant consultation to ensure that the insights of a range of stakeholders regarding the operation of the scheme – and how best to support those of limited means with legal needs – will inform the work of the Review Group.

Capturing the views of those who have unmet legal needs will be an important part of the Group’s consultation and engagement. One of the areas which will be considered in the review is eligibility for civil legal aid.

Ultimately the review should map out a future for the Civil Legal Aid Scheme; one which will provide for a flexible service that has, as far as possible, the capacity and resources to respond to the priority legal assistance needs of those of modest means.”

I will be launching a public consultation in the coming weeks and I encourage as many people as possible to participate and to have their say on this important matter”.

The Review Group is expected to commence its work in June 2022, for a period of 12 months. It will make periodic reports to Minister McEntee on the progress of its work, before submitting its final report once its work is fully completed.

The Review of the Civil Legal Aid Scheme is part of a broader civil justice reform programme the Minister is spearheading across her Justice Plan 2022, including the establishment of a dedicated family court structure; the finalisation of the first national strategy on family justice; an independently chaired Judicial Planning Working Group, which is examining the number and type of judges needed over the next five years to ensure access to justice; and the Implementation Plan on Civil Justice Efficiencies and Reform Measures, which the Minister published last week.