Ireland’s oldest car hire company, Pembroke Services, was the latest victim of the tough market last week when it collapsed, forcing 19 staff redundancies.

Pembroke Services, which parent company is the Murray Group, was turned over to liquidators with debts of around £1.3 million.

The company has £400,000 worth of assets, but only 25% can be realised, as debts worth £1.25 million and £50,000 are owed to banks.

The company is a family run operation by Harold Thomas Murray and Harold John Murray, a father and son from Dublin.

The company experienced its first fatal blow earlier this year, losing a Europcar franchise.

An employee with the company said he was told in July that job cuts were inevitable, however didn’t hear from administrators until early last month. 

He said that stuff had been given no pay or redundancy entitlements.

The parent company still has a significant amount of assets and has been implemented cost cutting measures, including cutting 40 jobs.