A High Court judge has deferred, pending the outcome of a further hearing, a decision on whether to direct payment of about €10,500 arrears of living expenses to Sean Quinn Junior and his wife.

Complaints by Sean Quinn Junior and his wife Karen Woods about a recent failure to pay some of their €100,000 annual living expenses should be seen in the context of a “scheme of misappropriation on a grand scale”, the High Court has been told.

The sale of Sean Quinn Jr’s Dublin home in the next four weeks for over €400,000 will finally purge a contempt of court order against him, a judge said yesterday.

The son of former billionaire Seán Quinn has taken a case for unfair dismissal against Quinn Insurance after claiming he was forced to accept redundancy from his €75,000 job as a senior executive in the group.

An alternative financial proposal relating to Sean Quinn Jr, who has said he wants to purge his contempt, may be put forward, the High Court heard yesterday.