Healy Rae firm increases profits

Michael Healy Rae is a postmaster, farmer, service station owner, and politician along with his business interest in plant hire. Picture: Gareth Chaney/Collins
Accumulated profits at the plant hire firm owned by Independent Kerry TD Michael Healy Rae last year increased to €692,609.
New accounts filed by Mr Healy Rae’s Roughty Plant Hire Ltd show that accumulated profits increased by €90,333 to €692,609 in the 12 months to the end of April.
The post-tax €90,333 profit for the 12 months compares to a post-tax loss of €13,641 incurred during the previous 12 months which coincided with the early phase of the covid-19 pandemic.
The abridged accounts show that the firm received Government grants of €101,602 during the year and this followed €38,993 received under the same heading in fiscal 2021.
The accounts do not disclose the nature of the Government grants but separate figures published by Revenue show that the firm was in receipt of Government covid-19 wage supports in 2021 and the first quarter of 2022.
Four Healy Raes, Michael and his wife Eileen along with sons Ian and Kevin, sit on the board of the firm and aggregate pay to directors last year almost doubled from €47,681 to €87,582.
The firm is just one of four where Mr Healy Rae is listed as a director and the most recently established, in May last year, is property management firm Roughty Properties Ltd.
Mr Healy Rae, in his Dáil register of interests, describes himself as a postmaster, farmer, service station owner, and politician along with his business interest in plant hire.
He also describes himself as an owner of rental properties and his entry on the Dáil register lists 16 properties for letting, including 12 houses.
Four of the houses have Killarney addresses and two are in Tralee. Deputy Healy Rae also has 104 acres of farmland forestry. He also has shares in the New York Times Company.
Mr Healy Rae’s list of interests also include Roughty Properties Ltd providing accommodation to Ukrainians in a guest house in Tralee and the contract was estimated to be worth over €160,000 last year, according to Department of Integration records.