Judge cuts insurance administrator’s €480 hourly fee amid ‘disquiet’

The president of the High Court has cut the €480 per hour fees sought by the administrator of insurance company Icarom plc and also cut the average €330 hourly fees for his staff after noting “a great deal of public disquiet at the level of fees charged for this type of work”.

Icarom was formerly the Insurance Corporation of Ireland plc, which collapsed in the 1980s, leading to an insurance levy being imposed. The administration has lasted almost 30 years and is expected to conclude shortly. Last year, €10m was paid back to the State’s insurance compensation fund out of the administration.

Donal O’Connor was appointed administrator in 1990 and, after he retired in 2008 as a partner in accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, the Department of Finance agreed he would continue in that role with the assistance of PwC staff.