Couple with 12 children told to pay €40,000 mortgage debt by October

A COUPLE who are expecting their 13th child in two weeks have been given until October to deal with mortgage arrears of more than €40,000.

The couple, from Offaly, owe €42,606 to subprime lender Start Mortgages Ltd arising out of a mortgage they took out on a property in June 2005 of just under €170,000.

Start is seeking an order for possession. High Court judge Elizabeth Dunne was told that since September last year, arrears in the property had risen from €25,629 to €42,606 and there has been only one payment made since then - €1,526.44 - before court proceedings were brought against the couple in April. Aside from that, there had been only a payment of €500 since January 2007.

Counsel for the couple Anthony Cahalan said that the father of the 12 children had been involved in a workplace accident in April 2005 and had not worked since.

He said the man had now taken a personal injuries claim to the High Court and had tried to expedite it, but it could not be heard this term because a defence witness could not be called.

However, the man's solicitors were attempting to expedite the case when the next legal term begins in the autumn.

He said the man, who had been a network technician before his accident, had a 17-page opinion written by a barrister which stated that he was likely to receive "considerable quantum" in damages arising out of his accident.

That money could be used to clear the couple's mortgage arrears, Mr Cahalan said.

Counsel for Start Mortgages Ronan Murphy said the couple were responsible for "representation by silence" by not informing the mortgage company that the man was not working when the mortgage commenced.

He said the man's legal team had not done all it could have to expedite the personal injuries claim as quickly as possible and the case had not moved on significantly since it was last before the court in April.

Judge Dunne adjourned the repossession case until October 20th. She said that if the matter had not moved on, she would be minded to pay "little attention to the matter of a stay" in relation to an order for possession.

A couple in Rathfarnham also sought to argue that they were due payments from a personal injuries claim that would help them clear mortgage arrears.

The High Court heard that since October 2006 the amount of arrears on their €215,000 mortgage had doubled from €15,234 to €33,101.48. An order for possession is being sought by GE Capital Woodchester Home Loans Ltd.

Counsel for the couple Maura Fleming said that the man, who had been a bus driver, had been involved in an accident which is being investigated by the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB), now known as injuriesboard.ie.

He is expecting a sum of about €50,000 which would be used to clear the arrears. Ms Fleming said the couple hope for a response to their claim next month.

Judge Dunne granted an order for possession with a six-month stay to see if the couple could come to an arrangement to pay off their mortgage arrears.