A Dublin architect lost his professional practice almost overnight after he had been featured in an RTÉ Prime Time programme, the High Court was told yesterday.
David Grant faced imprisonment yesterday for having failed to comply with a January 2005 court order to reinstate four protected Georgian buildings to which he had carried out extensive unauthorised works.
Carol O'Farrell, counsel for Dublin City Council, had applied to Mr Justice Declan Budd to have Grant committed to prison for contempt of court. She told the court Grant had made very little progress in raising the funds he needed to restore the buildings to their original status and comply with the order.
David Grant, Haddington Road, Dublin, told Mr Justice Budd he experienced serious personal and financial difficulties resulting from media coverage he received in the Prime Time programme in March 2005.
"The programme targeted my professional practice as an architect and as a result of the programme, my professional income disappeared practically overnight," he said in an affidavit. "My health suffered as a result and my ability to make objective decisions and judgments became impaired."
He said good business relations he had enjoyed with lending institutions had also deteriorated and borrowings he would have required to undertake the reinstatement works to 7-10 Upper Gardiner Street, Dublin, had not been made available to him.
Grant told the court he owned a number of properties and he had decided to dispose of them and utilise the proceeds to fund the restoration works. His home at Haddington Road had failed to meet its reserve of €1.6 million at auction last February but he was hopeful it would be sold over the coming weeks.
He said he intended also to sell two properties, one at Adelaide Road, Dublin, and a site in Kilcoole, Co Wicklow. Ms O'Farrell told the court these two properties were already the subject of a charge from the Bank of Scotland.
She said the case had been adjourned seven times and she asked the court to jail Grant for his failure to comply with the order.
Grant appealed to the court for a reasonable extension of time to carry out the mandatory works and accepted unreservedly that some work he had already carried out to the buildings had been fairly criticised by Dublin City Council.
Mr Justice Budd said that although Grant was still in defiance of the court, he seemed to be making some efforts, however slow they were. He said he would give him some "breathing space".
He adjourned the local authority's application for attachment and committal until October 16th "but I want to see some progress. You are running out of time," the judge warned Grant.