Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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Question 173: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment when the liquidation of a company (details supplied) in County Wicklow will be completed; if a particular difficulty within her Department or any other Department is delaying the completion of the liquidation process; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7931/10]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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The liquidation of Irish Fertilizers Industries (IFI) is solely a matter for the liquidator and is not a matter in which I, or my Department, have a responsibility. The liquidator has advised my Department that the liquidation process is at an advanced stage and that all of the assets of the company have been realised. The liquidator has made payments of 48.5% of the claims made by unsecured creditors. A recent payment of 1%, made by the liquidator in October 2009, was effectively the final payment to creditors and the liquidator does not anticipate the payment of any further material dividend to creditors.

The liquidation of IFI is, therefore, substantially completed. One issue remains to be resolved relating to the company's liability for its proportion of rent increases in respect of leases on the Marino Point site in Cork for periods prior to the liquidator's sale of the lease interest in April 2006. When the rent payable under these leases was reviewed and increased in 2003 and 2004 the tenants, Port of Cork Company, appealed the increase in rent. Resolution of this process rests with the current tenants and head landlord which, since January 2010, is the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government (the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food was the head landlord prior to the recent transfer of this function). Neither my Department nor the liquidator is a party to the rent appeal process.