Family with eight-month-old baby avoid eviction by council after court ruling

An eight-month-old baby, its parents and two siblings will avoid eviction, a judge decided on Monday, despite Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council’s claim they did not meet the criteria for a tenancy of a two-bed house in Co Dublin.

The decision of Judge James McCourt in the Circuit Civil Court on Monday was met with applause by friends of the family in court and the agreement of Irish People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd-Barrett and Cllr Melisa Halpin, who supported the family.

Dylan Mooney’s wife Gemma burst into tears following Judge McCourt’s decision to overturn an order of the District Court, which had ordered her husband to hand back their home in St Kevin’s Villas, Sallynoggin, to the council.

Mr Mooney, a lorry driver, told his counsel Sean Beatty that eviction would be devastating for the family leaving them with nowhere else to live and putting their eight-month-old baby on the street.

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Following Judge McCourt’s decision and refusal to grant the local authority its legal costs in opposing Mr Mooney’s appeal, Mr Boyd-Barret said: “I think this a right and just decision and prevents a family being made homeless. Clearly this was their family home.”

Judge McCourt heard that Mr Mooney’s mother at the age of 57 had come home from hospital in the last week of her fight against cancer to die in the presence of her family in the St Kevin’s Villas where she had lived with her son, Dylan, from his birth.

“She was more comforting to us than we were to her,” Mr Mooney said. “There is a very sentimental attachment of our family with the house.”

The court was told that in order for consideration of a new tenancy Mr Mooney had to meet the council’s housing allocation policy whereby he had to have lived for five years in the house before his mother’s death or to have lived for at least 10 of the 15 years prior to her demise. The council claimed he failed to meet all of the criteria.

He had moved back into the house following his mother’s death and had been joined by his wife and two children. The baby had been born following their move in without confirmation of any new tenancy. The council described him to the court as a trespasser and had been granted a possession order in the District Court.

Judge Mc Court told Mr Beatty, who appeared with Daly Khurshid Solicitors, that he was satisfied Mr Mooney had lived in the house for the required amount of time to satisfy the council’s house allocation criteria. He had lived in the property for eight years and 10 months as an adult and for more than the alleged shortfall as a minor.

“It is accepted by the council that Mr Mooney had been included in the rent assessment for his mother which is a significant factor,” Judge McCourt said.

“I have enormous sympathy with any housing authority in trying to distribute meagre supplies of houses to satisfy the overwhelming demand. It is akin to the distribution of the five loaves and two fishes,” the judge said. “There aren’t enough houses to go around and it is not the fault of local authorities. I don’t like to see anyone skipping a queue but I don’t accept that Mr Mooney was a trespasser.”

Judge McCourt said the question was whether it was proportionate and reasonable to grant what was an eviction order and it was his view that it would be disproportionate and unreasonable in all of the circumstances and he would allow Mr Mooney’s appeal but would not make an order for costs against the county council.

“These are difficult cases but the facts in this case are unique. I have a lot of sympathy for councils which have little or no houses and yet have to deal with a problem not of their making. It is all very unfortunate but I do not think any use would be served by making an eviction order,” Judge McCourt said.