Me Libérer, the company that owns Ryevale House in Leixlip, which was used between March 2023 and March 2026 as an asylum accommodation centre has seemingly accepted that it has run out of road.
On Monday, the company withdrew an application for a Judicial Review of the decision by An Coimisúin Pleanála on what had been designated as unauthorised development at the 18th century mansion. Kildare County Council had decided that it was not exempted development, and therefore subject to planning. .
The writing had been on the wall when the Department of Justice announced that it was not renewing the contract with Me Libérer which had ended in March 2026. Several weeks before the formal announcement regarding the contract, the residents of the IPAS facility had been transferred to other locations.
The fact that the State – through the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) which then had responsibility for IPAS – had awarded and defended the contract despite the decision of Kildare County Council (KCC) not to grant planning permission is in itself a tale to be told.
Although KCC had ruled that Ryevale House was not exempt from planning laws that would prevent any changes to the protected structure being made without permission, the then Minister Roderic O’Gorman announced that “The department has decided to utilise the facility, such is the pressure on the State accommodation system.”
O’Gorman’s response to former Social Democrats TD, Catherine Murphy, was extraordinary in hindsight. In April 2023, Murphy elicited from the then Minister that he had relied on the assurance from Me Libérer that the IPAS centre did not require planning permission.
O’Gorman informed Deputy Murphy that “It is important to note that the provider has advised the Department that in the opinion of their planning consultant, the change of the property’s use to provide accommodation for international protection applicants does not amount to a material change of use and that planning permission is not required.”
Which was odd about that is that Kildare County Council had not only decided that permission was required and was not granted; but in May 2023 it proceeded to issue enforcement proceedings against Ronan Mallon, Ronan Holbrook, Daire Turner and Patrick Ward to ensure that Ryevale House revert to “single occupancy.”
In February this year, residents of Ryevale Lawns were told that the contract with Me Libérer – due to end on April 30 – would not be renewed. That brought to an end three years of attempting to have their concerns addressed which were almost completely ignored. A lengthy submission to the Department dated November 23 last did not even receive the courtesy of a reply from the Department of Justice.
Offaly Independent TD, Carol Nolan had asked Minister Jim O’Callaghan the week before the announcement of the withdrawal of the contract if the contract was going to be extended despite the fact that Ryevale House “has no planning permission and is subject to an enforcement order from Kildare County Council.”
In his response the Minister stated that “all planning matters are between the Local Authority and the accommodation service provider,” but that he was “aware that the planning for this site is the subject of court appeal proceedings at this time. Any action that is required as a result of those proceedings will be followed up once they are concluded.”
Those proceedings have come to an end this week. Several questions still need to be answered, not least why the Department stood over the contract for three years despite the ruling that it was an unauthorised, and therefore illegal, development. The assumption must be that it might have continued to do so had it not been for the reasoned and consistent opposition – backed by coherent argument – from the local community.
It is also now clearly incumbent on Kildare County Council to ensure that no further obstacles are placed in the way of ensuring that their enforcement order is complied with. I contacted them this morning to ask, “will Kildare County Council now proceed with its enforcement order against the development?” They have informed me that my request is being considered by the relevant section.
Despite the victory by the local residents, it ought to be noted that Me Libérer walk away from it all considerably the better off. They bought Ryevale House in December 2022 for a reported €1.6 million and have since pocketed some €7.5 million in taxpayer funds channelled through IPAS.
Who were these beneficiaries of our charity?
The sole owner of Me Libérer, which was established shortly before the purchase of Ryevale House, is now a chap called Ronan Holbrook. However, the property developer Ronan Mallon was generally believed to have bought the building and he, Holbrook, Turner and Ward were believed by Kildare County Council to be the principals involved when they issued the enforcement proceedings in 2023.
Holbrook, Daire Turner and Fiona McManamon are currently listed as the three officers of Me Libérer. McManamon shares the same address as Holbrook and is listed as an officer in a large number of Holbrook associated companies.
Daire Turner is an accountant based in Wexford and has other interests in the asylum accommodation business through a company called Laupteen which has the contract for My Place in Gardiner Street, Dublin and which is owned by Femida which in turn is owned by DNH House Unlimited which is ultimately owned by Shenick Holdings.
Patrick Ward, otherwise Paddy the Barber, is the former owner of DNH Holdings. Ward is also the owner of CDK Properties which applied for an asylum accommodation centre in Sherrard Street in early 2025. That application was backed by a letter confirming that Ward had a contract with the Department.
In April 2024, the Irish Daily Mail published an article on how the still-active barber had managed to accrue an impressive portfolio of properties that were linked to the provision of asylum or other emergency accommodation. Some of the people who you and your fellow taxpayers have assisted in their entrepreneurial careers.
The people of Leixlip will be keeping a close eye on what these guys might now proposed to be done with Ryevale House given that this part of the asylum caper has run aground. I shall keep you posted.