The High Court yesterday adjourned an application by the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) to appoint a receiver to a house owned by a son of convicted drug dealer John Gilligan.
An undertaking was given yesterday on behalf of Mr Darren Gilligan that a house he owns at Weston Green, Lucan, Co Kildare, would be repaired and secured, and that he would reside there. The house was found to be flooded earlier this month. On foot of the undertaking, the president of the High Court, Mr Justice Finnegan, adjourned the CAB application.
The Lucan house is one of a number of properties worth several million euro at the centre of legal proceedings between the CAB and members of the Gilligan family.
The Gilligans are attempting to prevent the CAB seizing the properties.
Some years ago the CAB obtained a "freezing" order on the Gilligans' assets but under legislation a seven-year period must elapse before frozen assets can be seized under court order.
Earlier this month the unoccupied house was found to be flooded. The sitting-room ceiling was sagging as a result of water damage.
In an affidavit before the judge yesterday, Mr Darren Gilligan utterly rejected the suggestion implicit in affidavits filed on behalf of the CAB that he had tried to destroy or damage the property. He strenuously denied the suggestion that he had in the past stated a desire to destroy it rather than let it fall into State hands.
He added that it appeared from a fire officer's affidavit that the grounds upon which CAB expressed concern, namely the suggestion that the ballcock was "purposely tied up" with a view to causing deliberate flooding, now no longer arose.
Given the concerns expressed about the house's future security, he proposed to live there permanently and undertook to secure the premises. He intended to repair the damage to the sitting-room ceiling and other damage resulting from the flooding.