Farmer fails to remove cattle from land

A FARMER was accused of playing ducks and drakes with the courts after it emerged he had failed to remove cattle from land due for repossession for four years.

Eugene Costello, who was ordered to surrender his land in Co Roscommon to Carlisle Mortgages in November 2006 after falling into arrears, narrowly avoided jail when he was given one last chance to come to court and explain himself in two weeks’ time.

Carlisle sought an order for his committal, telling Judge Brian McGovern in the High Court that Mr Costello failed to remove the 140 cattle and an unknown quantity of calves after the repossession order and also defied two direct orders by the court since.

The mortgage company said since the last order, some of the cattle failed a TB test so all were now classified as a restricted herd and could not be moved without special licence. Mr Costello was also claiming they could not be slaughtered as the calves were too young.

“But if they are too young to be slaughtered, what about veal calves?” asked Judge McGovern. “I am not going to have the orders of the court flouted and the cattle used as a pretext.”

Judge McGovern, who was told Mr Costello was not in court because he was accompanying his wife to a medical appointment, allowed the defendant two weeks to provide full details of the animals, their ages and types and his proposals for removing them.

He said if he did not comply with this new order, Carlisle could apply to have him committed. “He is just playing ducks and drakes with the court and it’s not acceptable and I am not going to allow it.”

Four other mortage holders lost their battles to hold on to their property at yesterday’s court. GE Capital were granted repossession of a house at Oranmore, Co Galway, where the owner had arrears of over €82,000 on a €455,000 mortgage.

The case had been adjourned previously to allow the man, who had become unemployed, to see if he could make payments out of his welfare, but he had not paid anything for almost three years. Judge McGovern said the situation appeared “hopeless” and granted the repossession with a stay of three months.

A couple from Enfield, Co Meath, lost their home after running up arrears of €57,600 on a €266,000 mortgage from Start Mortgages who had received no repayment for over two- and-a-half years. The parents of grown-up children, they were given a three- month stay of execution.

A couple, from Mallow, Co Cork, also lost their home after defaulting on a mortgage from Start. The court heard they had arrears of €38,000 and now owed a total of €233,000. They were given a six-month stay to find alternative accommodation for their family.

Start Mortgages were also granted possession of a house owned by a Kilkenny couple who had arrears of €13,500 on their €160,000 mortgage.