A woman whose family home was repossessed by a bank when she was a girl now faces the prospect of having the home she lives in with her child repossessed by the EBS.
The woman told Dublin County Registrar Rita Considine she feared that if she became homeless, her estranged husband would use that fact to secure custody of the child in separate proceedings which are before the family courts.
The couple had taken out a loan of more than €300,000 to buy the Co Dublin home in 2005 but were now in arrears and separated.
The woman, speaking from the public seating area of the crowded court, said her husband was “staying in one of his family’s properties” and had stopped contributing to the mortgage.
His objective, she said, was to make her homeless and secure custody of their child.
She said the child went to a particular school with the help of a dedicated bus service.
Paying debts
She would need time to organise it so that the child was brought by bus from any new address and so requested a stay on the possession order.
The woman said she had a background in finance. “I always believed you should pay your debts, and I can understand the bank’s position,” she told the registrar.
She said her family home had been repossessed when she was a child and she had been determined it would never happen again. But now it was happening to her and her child.
Custody
The woman said her husband, who was also in court, had filed papers in the family courts to get custody of their child, and she had them with her if the registrar wanted to see them.
“I’m not making this up to get a stay,” she said.
Asked by the registrar if she had legal representation in the family courts, the woman said she could not afford it.
The registrar, with the consent of the bank, put a 12-month stay on the possession order.
When asked about costs, the woman said she would not be able to pay them and might have to declare herself a bankrupt. This would affect her future employment prospects, she said.
The man said that while he did have a wealthy family, he too might seek bankruptcy.
The registrar said it was obvious that neither of the defendants were in a position to pay their arrears. With the consent of the bank she made no order as to costs.
It is understood that afterwards, outside the court, a barrister and solicitor approached the woman and offered to represent her pro bono in the family courts.
