The Irish High Court has reportedly approved the serving of bankruptcy proceedings on developer Sean Dunne at his next court appearance in the US.

According to the Irish Examiner, the Irish businessman, who is nicknamed the 'Baron of Ballsbridge' after a tiny Dublin suburb, is living in America on a temporary visa.

Ulster Bank, which is owed $174 million, applied to serve bankruptcy proceedings on the Irish developer during his appearance in court in Connecticut on Friday.

The American judge was told that Dunne still has property in Ireland and that he returns there on a regular basis, but to date the bank has had difficulty in locating him to serve him with legal papers.