Farmer denies he told men to kick in door of house in bid to thwart receiver

A FARMER has denied claims he told people to break into a house as part of a campaign to obstruct a Revenue-appointed receiver.

Seamus Kane (50) could be jailed if the High Court finds him in contempt following claims he tried to sabotage the work of receiver Myles Kirby.

But in an affidavit filed with the High Court he denied directing a number of people to break into a house in Granard, Co Longford, which is in the possession of the receiver.

In the legal filing, he said the matter was being investigated by gardaí and “a main pillar of law” is that “one is innocent until proven guilty”.

The house is one of several properties Mr Kirby has been endeavouring to sell in a bid to recoup a €4.97m judgment against Mr Kane’s brother, car dealer John Alex Kane, in relation to unpaid taxes from motor sales.

But his efforts have been hampered by what he alleges has been a campaign of interference and intimidation waged by the two brothers to dissuade potential buyers.

Seamus Kane has twice been jailed for contempt for breaching court orders and undertakings, while John Alex Kane received a two-month suspended sentence for civil contempt last year.

Both deny any interference with the work of the receiver.

Several incidents have been brought to the court’s attention over the past year, with the latest being a break-in at a property in Granard known as Ledwith House last month.

This was caught on CCTV and two of the intruders later told gardaí they were instructed by Seamus Kane to “kick down the door”, according to an affidavit filed by Mr Kirby, of Kirby Healy Chartered Accountants.

In a further affidavit, the receiver said Mr Kane offered a “convoluted explanation” in a letter from his solicitor Bríd Mimnagh.

In the letter, it was claimed Mr Kane attempted to make an arrangement for locks to be changed at another property but there was perhaps some confusion in his instructions and the people involved went to the wrong house. Mr Kirby described the explanation as “entirely unconvincing”.

High Court President Mr Justice Peter Kelly heard yesterday Mr Kane intended to contest the contempt application and was seeking time to file a further affidavit and to apply for legal aid.

Ms Mimnagh said, notwithstanding the fact her client denied the allegations, he was willing to give further undertakings not to interfere in the receiver’s work.

After the undertakings were given, Mr Justice Kelly said he hoped Mr Kane would not be heading back to prison again and adjourned the case to later in the month.

The judge expressed concern when told by Ms Mimnagh a decision on legal aid could take up to six weeks.

“A delay of that length doesn’t seem to me to be of any great assistance from the point of view of administering justice,” he said.