Danny Healy-Rae's plant hire firm is sitting on profits of more than €700,000
It was revealed that the Kerry TD’s outfit has benefited from state and county council contracts.
A PLANT HIRE firm owned by independent Kerry TD Danny Healy-Rae is sitting on profits of more than €700,000, new documents show.
Recently filed accounts for Healy-Rae Plant Hire Limited show that the company – which rents machinery to construction contractors – declared a profit of just over €30,700 last year, a six-fold increase on 2015′s tally.
By the end of December last year, accumulated profits at the Kilgarvan-based firm had swelled to nearly €716,000.
According to the documents, the company is majority owned by Danny Healy-Rae. His wife, Eileen, owns a minority stake in the outfit.
The husband and wife are listed as directors of the company alongside their son, Kerry county councillor Johnny Healy-Rae.
Directors’ remuneration dipped last year from €45,000 in 2015 to €37,500.
State contracts
An Irish Times investigation published earlier this year revealed that Healy-Rae Plant Hire has earned €8.7 million in state and county council contracts since 1999.
The newspaper reported in August that the Kerry TD’s firm won contracts worth €7 million from Kerry County Council in the last 17 years and more than €1.6 million from Irish Water since it was set up in 2013.
According to the newspaper, the plant hire company earned over €200,000 from council contracts last year alone.
Healy-Rae, who is also a publican, has attracted considerable media attention since he was elected to Dáil Éireann in 2016 alongside his brother, Michael.
Since taking his seat in Leinster House, Danny Healy-Rae has questioned climate change science, suggesting that only “God above” can take charge of the issue. He has also expressed controversial views on drink driving limits.
