Health Minister Named As Debt Defaulter In Stubbs Gazette

Dr James Reilly, the Minister for Health in Ireland, has become the first member of government ever to be named in the Stubbs Gazette - a publication that lists debt defaulters.

Dr Reilly is one of five investors in a nursing home against whom a €1.9m judgment was made by the High Court.

The court set a deadline of April for Dr Reilly and the four others to pay over the money.

But because of "complex litigation" and protracted negotiations, the deadline was missed.

The naming of the Minister is hugely embarrassing for him personally, but also for the government of Enda Kenny.

Dr Reilly made a ten minute personal statement to the Dail last week during which he outlined in great detail the complex arrangements and negotiations that led to his default.

And he pledged to pay the money back in full over time.

But there were calls for his resignation from opposition benches.

The controversy centers on a nursing home called Green Hills in Tipperary dating back to 2001.

It was built by a consortium of 13 investors.

Eight of them were non-recourse owners, who were entitled to be bought out from their investment after 10 years.

Dr Reilly and four others were responsible for the outstanding investment, and the arrangement meant that all five were still individually responsible for any debt that one of the others could not afford to pay back.

Further complicating matters, was the fact that one of the five leased the nursing home site to run it as a business.

There were issues over the lease which eventually led to litigation, and made it very difficult for Minister Reilly to divest himself of his interest in the nursing home when he became Minister for Health.

The High Court ruled that O'Reilly and the four others were liable for the payment of €1.9m to the other investors.

Adding to the political controversy is the fact that O'Reilly as Minister for Health tried to act to divest himself of involvement in the nursing home lest there be a perceived conflict of interest.

But he could find no-one to buy him out, and attempts to set up a blind trust arrangement where he would have no knowledge of decisions being made regarding the nursing home were thwarted by the legal cases already underway.

In the end, he consulted with the Standards in Public Office Comission regularly and handed over power of attorney for the nursing home to a third party.

Both Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore have publicly expressed confidence in Dr Reilly as minister, while Sinn Fein called for his resignation.