The Eagle Star insurance company has offered to make an advance payment on a claim to a murder victim's partner who had been facing the prospect of having her home repossessed.
Father of one Thomas McDonagh (28) was shot dead outside his house at St Mark's Crescent, Clondalkin, in February. On Monday, Mrs Justice Elizabeth Dunne refused leave to Start Mortgages Ltd to repossess the home he shared with Amanda Bailey when the court heard that mortgage protection insurance was being withheld by Eagle Star.
The €200,000 mortgage was taken out in 2002 but the couple had begun to fall into arrears when Mr McDonagh was made redundant before his death.
Ms Bailey said her mortgage was more than €1,500 a month and she feared that she was going to lose her house. "My arrears were getting higher and as it takes two people with two incomes to get a mortgage in the first place, there's no way I could actually pay that mortgage on my own," she told RTÉ's News at One yesterday.
They had taken out mortgage protection and life insurance with Eagle Star but Ms Bailey was told that the company would not pay the claim until it had a death certificate. She then learned it would not pay until the Garda investigation was closed.
Eagle Star said yesterday it had not been informed of the attempted repossession.
A spokeswoman said it was willing to facilitate Ms Bailey with an advance payment if she contacted them.
"The usual procedure in cases like this is to wait until the investigation is complete," she said. "However, it is also our normal practice where hardship is involved to make an advance payment on request."
