The mother of a sick child who is herself facing cancer surgery has been told by the High Court that her home will be repossessed in six months if she cannot clear her mortgage arrears.
Ms Justice Elizabeth Dunne granted a stay of six months on the repossession of the family home by Start Mortgages Ltd but urged the defendant to make every effort to pay her mortgage arrears within that time. Arrears of €11,302 have accrued on the mortgage, which currently stands at €210, 170.
The woman told the court that mortgage began to fall into arrears when her husband's business failed. The family's situation deteriorated when she was diagnosed with cancer and they suffered a further blow recently when their daughter was also diagnosed with a serious illness, she told the court.
She said she understood that there were arrears that had to be paid and she had been dealing with the Department of Social Welfare in relation to securing mortgage relief, but there had been delays processing her claim. She was facing cancer surgery next week and asked for more time to resolve the situation.
"If I could just have a bit of time to recuperate from my own operation," she asked the court.
The legal representatives for the mortgage company said they appreciated that the family was in a "difficult situation" and said that a stay on the repossession would be appropriate.
Ms Justice Dunne said in the circumstances a six-month deferral of the order to repossess would be fitting. "I can see through the history of this mortgage that you have made efforts to deal with the matter," she said.
The case was one of 35 relating to property repossession before Ms Justice Dunne yesterday. The majority of the cases were adjourned but repossessions were granted in six cases. In the cases that were dealt with, none of the mortgage sums detailed in the court were above €300,000.
Of the 35 cases, 18 were taken by Start Mortgages.
