Co Kildare family face eviction after failing to pay €3m debt

A Co Kildare couple and their two children will be put out of their home by bailiffs next Friday after failing to pay a €3 million bank debt, the High Court has been told.

Mr Justice Robert Haughton told John and Dolores Quinn, of Woodside House, Dunnstown, Brannockstown, Co Kildare, that he was unable to help them.

The family live in a five-bedroom bungalow on about three-quarters of an acre outside Kilcullen. The property failed to sell at auction in February last.

Barrister Rudi Neuman, counsel for Bank of Ireland Mortgage Bank that the couple owed the bank just over €3 million and that the Co Kildare Sheriff would be executing a possession order next Friday.

The court heard that the couple borrowed €2,839,000 from the bank in November 2006 and the debt had been secured by mortgage over their principal private residence in Dunnstown.

Mr Justice Haughton, in sworn affidavits from the bank, was told that the couple had defaulted on repayments and now owed the bank €3,165,479 which included arrears of €1.307,000. The last payment on the mortgage had been €2,200 in June 2010.

The bank issued Circuit Court proceedings at Naas for possession in August 2014 and, following adjournments, the County Registrar made an order for possession in July 2015 with a six months stay until February 2016.

After the Quinns had failed to discharge the debt the bank obtained an Execution Order and the Sheriff had recently warned them he would be taking possession of the property and evicting the Quinns next Friday.

In the High Court, Mr Quinn said that for a number of reasons he had neglected appealing the County Registrar’s order and as a result was not out of time. He asked the judge to extend time to allow an appeal to the High Court.

Mr Justice Haughton said the proper line of appeal from the County Registrar was to the Circuit Court and he did not have the jurisdiction to deal with the matter. He refused Mr Quinn’s application and stated he would not make an order for costs against him and his wife.

In the absence of new legal intervention the County Sheriff can from midnight on Thursday next move to evict the Quinns.