Concession holders at Clerys, who say they are owed €2million in cash takings following the liquidation of the department store, have hired a solicitor to help them get their money back.
The 50 concession holders were permitted to retrieve their stock from the Clerys premises after the liquidation, but say they have been given inadequate information regarding the whereabouts of the €2m in cash which they say was held on trust for them by the owners of Clerys.
15 concession holders who are collectively owed €750,000 met today in a building close to Clerys to discuss their next move.
Their solicitor, Michael Lavelle, said the next step in the legal process would be on 5 July when the High Court is to confirm the appointment of provisional liquidators Kieran Wallace and Eamonn Richardson of KPMG.
He said the concession holders had not yet made a decision as to whether to challenge the appointment of KPMG as liquidators.
He said they were looking to see where money was held in trust for his clients, and whether they could recover it from the parties who held it in trust.
He said the takings were clearly held in trust and there must be provision in the Clerys sale documentation dealing with that.
Concession staff describe situation as 'scary'
Helen Lynch of the Best of Irish Design said she had to make nine of her staff redundant last Wednesday - but there was still no sign of the takings owed to them.
She noted that the concessions who had already been hit could not afford to write a blank cheque for a legal challenge.
Married couple Nina and Denis Forde who only took over the hair and beauty salon in February have temporarily laid off their 13 staff but say that effectively, they have no business.
They are having difficulty finding new premises because their finances are tied up in Clerys.
Ms Forde was due to commence maternity leave on the day Clerys closed and is now four days overdue. She described the situation as "scary".
Lorraine Sweeney of LS Catering ran a cafe in Clerys for 23 years.
She said she had invested €118,000 in the cafe which was now sitting idle in an empty store. She is owed €50,000 and will have to make ten staff redundant if she cannot relocate them.
She voiced criticism of the concept of large firms, solicitors and accountants getting involved in similar transactions which left the small business in difficulty.
She also said she had met the liquidator last week, but was not confident of getting her money back.
Concession finances, a matter for liquidators - Natrium
A spokesperson for Clerys new owner, Natrium, said that it was a matter for the liquidator whether the concession holders get their money back.
Sources also suggested it was unlikely that Natrium would meet the workers who have been made redundant.
While Natrium has agreed to meet Minster of State for Business and Employment Ged Nash to discuss the Clerys liquidation, no date has yet been set.
The minister is preparing a report on the liquidation for the Government.
Meanwhile, Dublin City Council has voted to extend planning controls in O'Connell Street to protect the use of Clerys as a department store.
However council chief executive Owen Keegan noted it was not possible to determine planning permissions on non-planning issues.
In a statement this evening, SIPTU welcomed the decision to extend the period for special planning on O'Connell Street, which they said was a "key issue" for workers.
