Direct Provision centre closed over safety issues

A Direct Provision centre run by a company whose €1.37m in borrowings were sold by Nama to a subsidiary of a so-called vulture capital fund company has closed down after claims that management failed to meet health and safety standards.

The management contract was “terminated” by a division of the Department of Justice, which said the measure was taken after requests for compliance with health and safety standards were ignored.

While the centre’s 64 residents are to be moved to other accommodation centres, the future remains uncertain for the centre’s 12 employees.

A statement released by the department said: “The Reception & Integration Agency has invoked the termination clause of the contract with Westbourne Holiday Hostel Ltd at Westbourne Accommodation Centre, Dock Rd, Limerick.

“Despite repeated requests to the contractor from last autumn, a schedule of works to address essential maintenance and to ensure the health and safety of those resident in the centre has not been forthcoming.”

The department said it had “no option but to terminate the contract” on Friday.

Westbourne is owned by Kenny Commercial Holdings Ltd, a subsidiary of Kenny Investment Holdings, which entered Nama as a going concern on December 16, 2010.

No comment was available from Kenny Commerical Holdings last night,

Westbourne’s borrowings were taken on last July by OCM EmRu Debtco DAC, a subsidiary of Oaktree Capital Management Limited, which hit the headlines recently over its bid to evict residents from the Strand Apartment complex.

A spokesperson for Oaktree Capital Management Ltd said it was not making any comment. A spokesperson at Kenny Commercial Holdings Ltd could not be reached for comment.