A woman in a cohabiting relationship that went wrong has been awarded an 85 per cent financial share of the former couple's €400,000 home.
Mr Justice Esmond Smyth was told in the Circuit Civil Court yesterday that Gary Comerford and Deborah Hackett had bought a house in Rathfarnham, Dublin in a shared ownership deal with their local authority in 1994.
The couple had pooled their finances to jointly pay off the part-mortgage, part-rent deal with Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council until their break-up in May 2000.
Martin Collins, counsel for Ms Hackett, said she would tell the court that, as well as her contribution to mortgage and rent repayments, she had paid the €2,000 deposit on the house from a personal injuries award.
He said she would challenge a claim by Mr Comerford that he had paid half the deposit and would say in evidence he had used a credit union loan, allegedly taken out to meet his share of the deposit, to buy a bike.
Mr Comerford said he had worked for Microsoft until 1995 but had been unemployed until February 1999, during which time he had received social welfare payments from the State and mortgage relief payments from the Eastern Health Board.
He said during his unemployment he had cashed Microsoft shares and had used the money towards maintaining the house. Ms Hackett had made payments towards the mortgage and had done the weekly shopping.
Mr Justice Smyth adjourned briefly, and was told on resumption that the case had been settled. Adrienne Cawley, counsel for Mr Comerford, said it had been agreed that Ms Hackett would be granted an 85 per cent interest in the property and would buy out Mr Comerford's interest within seven years.