Directors at booming asylum seeker accommodation firm share €4.68m jackpot in 2024
In the second half alone of last year, Igo Cafe Ltd trading as IGO Emergency Management Services received €29.9 million (incl VAT) in State payments for accommodating IP applicants.
Advertisement
The Dun Laoghaire based company is co-owned by directors, Ann Murphy and Cristina Andries on a 50/50 basis and in 2024, the two shared €4.68m in remuneration and pension contributions.
The new accounts for Igo Cafe Ltd show that the two shared €3.779 million in pay and an additional €910,000 in pension contributions.
If evenly split, the €3.779 million works at €1.889 million each for 2024 which equates to average pay of €36,346 per week for each.
The €3.77 million in pay is almost three times the €1.3 million the pair shared in pay in 2023.
Advertisement
The accounts show that the company recorded post tax profits of €1.3 million last year which was a 48.5 per cent increase on the post tax profits of €882,126 in 2023.
Numbers employed increased from 31 to 77 last year. Accumulated profits at the end of December stood at €2.28 million as cash funds totalled €1.24 million.
The cash funds of €1.24 million compared to only €1,158 in cash in the company at the end of 2019.
A spokeswoman for the Dept of Justice said that IGO Emergency Management Services "are a facilities management provider at four International Protection Accommodation Services (IPAS) accommodation centres".
Advertisement
She said: 'The Department does not routinely provide details of IPAS Accommodation Centre locations or occupancy levels.'
'While detailed contractual arrangements for IPAS centres are confidential and commercially sensitive, the Department publishes quarterly reports on all payments to service providers over €20,000, which include IPAS accommodation contracts for this and other providers
She said that these reports are publicly available online.
She said: 'IGO Emergency Management Services are not a facilities management provider for Ukraine Temporary Protection scheme."
Last year, the overall Government spend on accommodation for IP applicants and Ukrainians totalled €1.84 billion.
The outlay equates to a daily average spend of €5 million across 2024.
The spend on accommodating IP applicants was €1 billion last year after paying out €280 million in the final quarter.
The €1 billion spend was a 54 per cent increase on the €651.75 million paid out in 2023.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
37 minutes ago
- The Sun
National Lottery to shut down TONIGHT with just hours left for players to buy tickets or claim prizes
THE NATIONAL lottery is shutting down tonight, for a huge technology update. Players have until just hours left to buy tickets, before the service shuts down for over 24 hours. 1 During the shutdown, which is taking place to facilitate the largest upgrade in the game's 31-year history, players will also not be able to check numbers. All draw game sales and prizes will be paused across the entire country from 11pm tonight to "late on Monday morning". During this period, operator Allwyn will transfer and upgrade the National Lottery's gaming and retail systems to new platforms. The update will take place after Saturday's Lotto and Thunderball draws, meaning that some winners will not be able to claim prizes until Monday. Online accounts, the National Lottery website and app will also be impacted until Monday. The news system is set to be up and running before the Set For Life draw on Monday night. Friday's Euromillions draw, which currently sits at £145 million, will not be impacted. Lotto players, should buy tickets. check their results and claim prizes before 11pm tonight, to avoid missing out. You will still be able to buy scratchcards during this period, and can see the latest draws and view the full results for the Saturday draws on the National Lottery's YouTube channel. However, Allwyn warned that a "small proportion" of in-store terminals could see delays if certain upgrade processes are interrupted. I became a millionaire overnight after winning huge National Lottery prize but I celebrated with modest Scottish treat Allwyn revealed that the technology needs to be updated, as it dates back to 2009, "before iPads, Uber and Instagram". The Czech-based group, who took over the 10-year licence to run the lottery from Camelot in February last year said the systems need to be modernised. to deliver on "ambitious" plans for a National Lottery "fit for the future". Allwyn chief executive Andria Vidler said: "This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to deliver The National Lottery that the UK deserves. How to increase your chances of winning the lottery The odds of picking a winning lottery ticket are pretty slim but there are some ways to improve your chances . Games with small jackpots tend to have better odds, so it's worth taking notice of the difference. For example, EuroMillions is harder to win than UK Lotto. Some lotteries may have bonus numbers or other features which could improve someone's chance of winning. Looking at these additional elements and understanding them can help someone make a more informed decision when choosing their numbers. Each lottery draw is random and balls have the same chance of being drawn. However, there are some balls that statistically have appeared more often than others which could make them seem a better bet. For example, previous research has showed that number 38 was most common, 23 was second most drawn, followed by 31, 11, 45 and 25. There is another easy way of getting more tickets at the same cost and that is by joining a syndicate. Of course, you share the winnings, but the chances of matching the numbers drawn are vastly improved. "We're making unprecedented and much-needed changes, which will move us closer to achieving our vision for The National Lottery. "These major upgrades will mean short-term disruption for players and our retail partners." "But they will allow us to deliver on our promise to bring new, exciting games, a better player experience and our commitment to double returns to Good Causes from £30 million to £60 million every week by the end of the 10-year licence." The switchover has been hampered by delays after Allwyn took over the licence, which has held back the launch of new draw-based games. It was unable to switch to a new technology provider after agreeing to extend the contract for the existing supplier, International Games Technology (IGT). IGT had challenged the Gambling Commission's decision to award Allwyn the 10-year licence in court, but later dropped the legal action.
Times
an hour ago
- Times
British Airways owner's profits soar after strong customer demand
British Airways owner IAG has beaten profit expectations amid persistently strong passenger demand and lower fuel costs, despite taking a big hit from Heathrow's one-day closure in March. The airline group, which also owns Vueling, Iberia and Aer Lingus, reported a more than third increase in second-quarter operating profit to €1.7 billion in the three months ended June 30, well ahead of City forecasts of €1.4 billion. Total revenue increased 6.8 per cent to €8.8 billion, driven by a 4.9 per cent rise in passenger revenue to €7.8 billion year-on-year. A bumper performance came despite the group booking a €50 million hit from the closure of Heathrow after the North Hyde substation fire in March. 'We continue to benefit from the trend of a structural shift in consumer spending towards travel,' Luis Gallego, chief executive, said on Friday. Gallego said the results gave him confidence that the FTSE 100 group would be able to create value for 'shareholders through our sustainable dividend and share buyback'. IAG brought back dividends for the first time since the pandemic last year amid a long-running boom in travel demand. It will provide an update for investors on payouts in November. Shares in the group have risen more than 130 per cent over the past 12 months. Before the results, analysts had been concerned about a number of geopolitical and macroeconomic headwinds, including jet fuel prices in the wake of Israel's conflict with Iran and the impact of President Trump's tariffs on consumer spending. IAG said the group's airlines had 'all benefited' from lower fuel prices. Fuel costs this year were down €291 million, or 7.6 per cent year-on-year, driven by lower prices and only partially offset by increased flying volumes. IAG said on Friday it had seen strong demand across its core markets in Europe, Latin America and the North Atlantic. It did, however, note some 'softness' in US economy bookings, a warning that sent shares down by about 1.4 per cent amid investor concern over the impact of Trump's trade policy and a more hostile US border on transatlantic travel. IAG said it had partially mitigated tempered US economy bookings via strength in its premium cabin offering, as capacity across the North Atlantic grew by 1.1 per cent over the half year. In May the European Travel Commission warned of 'heightened uncertainty' in the transatlantic market. Trips between the UK and US have remained broadly level this year at Heathrow, British Airways' primary hub, at 9.7 million, although there was a slight dip before the summer. Globally, half-year passenger numbers declined slightly, by 0.7 per cent to 57.8 million, although this was against a record year of demand in 2024. The company recently announced a multibillion-pound order for 53 intercontinental aircraft from Boeing and Airbus as the post-pandemic travel boom shows little sign of a tail-off. IAG's interim results were published hours after Heathrow submitted its long-awaited plans for a third runway, as part of a £50 billion investment in expanding its infrastructure. The hub's main airlines, which include British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, are generally supportive of growing the UK's biggest airport. However, they have backed alternative proposals from the billionaire property developer Surinder Arora for a shorter, 2,800m third strip. The airport's plan, which is entirely privately funded, includes a contentious proposal to divert a huge section of the M25 through a tunnel under the new runway.
Telegraph
2 hours ago
- Telegraph
Labour's hopes of a building boom are fading
The Government's entire economic strategy can be summed up in one phrase: planning reform. This is front and centre of every response to poor GDP figures, in every speech on the economy and high up in any list of government 'achievements'. It doesn't seem to matter that taxes on business have gone up massively and employment regulation is about to do the same. That is all fine because of planning reform. In her Spring Statement for instance, the Chancellor stated that these reforms would mean the Government was now 'within touching distance of delivering our manifesto promise to build 1.5 million homes in England in this Parliament'. The result of all this housebuilding would be, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), an increase in GDP worth 'an additional £3.4bn' by 2029/30. Delivering this level of housebuilding is therefore crucial to the Government's economic and political success. The early signs are not good, and this should be a major cause for concern in the Treasury. First, the OBR's assumptions for this economic impact are nothing short of heroic. They state that net additions to the housing stock will increase from 192,000 this year to 305,000 by 2029/30. A near-60pc increase and a 40-year high in terms of net additions. They are also forecasting a booming property market with transactions rising from 1m in 2023 to 1.472m in 2029. Turnover rate in the housing market will apparently rise to 4.58pc by 2029. Other than the Covid market surge in 2021 – when stamp duty was eased – that would be the highest annual turnover rate in 20 years. No one in the industry thinks these forecasts are realistic. And for good reason. The Home Builders Federation's recent housing pipeline report shows that the number of residential planning approvals actually fell by 37pc during the first quarter of 2025. The 50,610 units that these approvals will deliver was the lowest quarterly figure in nearly 12 years. In certain key regions things are even worse. Data from Molior shows that in London, where Labour has been in charge for years, just over 2,000 private homes began construction during the first half of this year. That is just 4.9pc of the Government's 44,000 half-year target. It could be fairly argued that the Government's planning reforms have yet to kick in. The OBR says most of the increase will happen from 2026/27. But things do not look good on that front either. Molior is forecasting that London will deliver just over 5pc of the 176,000 homes that the Mayor is targeting over the next two years. And if that were replicated across the country it would be nothing short of disastrous. If things continue along at the sort of rate we've seen since Labour came to power, rather than that which is currently in the OBR forecast, it will only be a matter of time before they look again at the numbers. They do in fact warn that their projections for housebuilding contain 'several significant uncertainties' including constraints within the sector and local opposition to the reforms. To that they should add other government policies because since these reforms were announced ministers have done everything they can to hamper them. They've already watered down some of their plans in the face of backbench opposition so environmental and nature campaigners will still be able to easily block new developments. Any hope that Government backed affordable housing would help reach the target have been ended after the Spring Statement confirmed most of the £39bn trumpeted for this programme is back loaded into the next parliament. There's actually less money for affordable housing in the next crucial few years. Added to all of this, the Government is actively making it more expensive to build new homes. New levies, inherited from the previous Government, will add a few thousand pounds to the cost of each new home. And Treasury officials have managed to slip through a massive increase to the landfill tax, something the previous government rejected, that will halt many brownfield developments in their tracks. So unless we see some new, additional and radical planning reforms for the OBR to take into account, at some point they will revise down the number of net additions they are currently forecasting. At which point the Government won't have an economic strategy left. The minor planning reforms they have half implemented will count for nothing. Instead of a housebuilding boom that delivers the economic growth that the Chancellor has promised, we are going to see the sector limp along like the rest of the economy because this Government simply doesn't understand that tax and regulation matter.
