Mother pleads for help to stop eviction

Seán McCárthaigh and Michael O'Farrell,

Fiona Saul, 40, was yesterday given a temporary reprieve by the Dublin County Sheriff from being evicted from her home at Lower Albert Rd, Glenageary, Co Dublin.

The mother-of-three has pleaded for help from a solicitor as a last-gasp measure to stay in the house where she has lived for the past 11 years.

Ms Saul has just a few days to attempt to seek an injunction to restrain the Dublin County Sheriff from taking possession of the house on foot of a High Court ruling.

"At this stage, my only hope is that some solicitor will help me to bring a case to the High Court to try and seek an injunction against the eviction order," Ms Saul said.

On Tuesday, she failed in an 11th-hour High Court application, in which she represented herself, to prevent enforcement of the eviction.

Ms Saul, who is due to give birth in two weeks, also expressed disappointment that the State-funded Civil Legal Aid Scheme had not taken an active role in her case.

Now she is worried that she and her three children Aisha, 17, Robin, 14, and Max, 6, and two-week-old grandson, Aran, could be turned out on the street with nowhere to go.

"The last week has been a nightmare since we got notice to quit the property," she admitted.

The family are uncertain when the Sheriff's officials will return to evict them from the three-bedroom house.

Ms Saul separated from her former partner, Martin O'Neill, a stonemason from Leopardstown, two years ago. He was subsequently granted possession of the house by the courts.

Ms Saul, who is entitled to a one-third share of the property, which is valued at 445,000, would rather stay living in the house.

"The building was originally divided into two, so it would be nice to be able to stay living here," she said.

A Civil Legal Aid Scheme spokesperson said it has assisted Ms Saul but had ceased to act for her after she had requested the return of her file. The spokesperson pointed out that her case could still be considered an urgent one.