John Slattery, the former managing director of Läpple Ireland Limited, has been disqualified by the High Court from acting as a company director over accounting irregularities at the firm.
The proceedings against Mr Slattery were taken by Paul Appleby, the acting Director of Corporate Enforcement.
Läpple Ireland made tools for the automotive industry.
The High Court heard today that in late 2006 the audited financial statements of Läpple Ireland for the year ended 31 December 2005, disclosed accounting irregularities which required making adjustments of over €21 million.
The ODCE first became aware of the irregularities as soon as its audited financial statements for 2005 became available in 2006. The office then investigated irregularities and concluded that the accounting irregularities were "substantially caused by the manual substitution of incorrect figures over a number of years".
The ODCE applied to the High Court in the middle of last year to have Mr Slattery disqualified.
A statement from the ODCE says that the High Court took into account Mr Slattery's "prompt acknowledgement" of responsibility for the accounting irregularities at Läpple Ireland Limited and that he said he had inherited an existing situation in the company.
The Court also took into account his explanation that he did not gain financially from the associated events but lost his job and his reputation as a result of them.
Läpple Ireland had been a wholly owned subsidiary of a successful German-owned international business which made specialised toolmaker. Its main customers were the leading car manufacturers in Europe, Asia and the USA.
Läpple closed its manufacturing facility in Carlow in 2007 after more than 30 years in Ireland.
Mr Slattery had been the Managing Director of the company from 1999 to 2006.
The ODCE's statement says that this case emphasises the risks associated with financial errors in the internal and external reporting of company financial and operational performance and that in this case published company financial statements over a number of years seriously misstated the true state of affairs at Läpple Ireland Limited.
