A Dublin woman has lost her High Court challenge to Fingal County Council's refusal to allow her buy a house under the council's shared ownership/affordable housing scheme because of alleged anti-social
behaviour on the part of a former boyfriend.
The court heard information was given to the Council alleging that the man in question was arrested after drugs valued at €10,000 were alleged to have been found in his possession.
Acting on the basis of that information, the Council refused to allow Ms Elizabeth Roche, of Kilbarron Avenue, Coolock, Dublin, purchase a house at Barnewall Drive, Donabate, Co Dublin.
Ms Roche took judicial review proceedings seekign to quash the Council's decision.
Dismissing the application yesterday, Mr Justice Kearns said he made his decision against a background of a scourge of drugs in Dublin. In judicial review, the court was concerned only with the decision making process. He was satisfied the Council had reasonable grounds for making
its decision and that no injustice arose in the case, he said.
The judge added that nothing in his finding should be taken in any way as implying that Ms Roche was in any way participating in the activities outlined in court. His task was solely to establish whether the Council had reasonable grounds for its decision.
Earlier, the court heard that, under the Freedom of Information Act, it had been established that Fingal County Council had received information from senior authorities in the National Garda Drug Unit
concerning the arrest of a boyfriend of the applicant and alleging that drugs valued at €10,000 had been found on him.
Mr Maurice Gaffney SC, for Ms Roche, said that when his client attended for interview in relation to the purchase of the house she was told that information involving anti-social behaviour was in the Council's
possession.
Ms Roche was not given the house and was not given a chance to explain her position. She was told she was not entitled to know what information had been received..
Mr Gaffney put it to Mr Alan Carthy, director of services with Fingal County Council, that Ms Roche had informed the Council she had broken off her relationship with her boyfriend.
Mr Carthy said that any person could tell one a week later that they have broken up with their boyfriend but, "within a few weeks, the boyfriend is back in occupation". Unfortunately, the Council had to be
very careful about allocating houses when people were in relationships.
Mr Justice Kearns said the applicant was given information about anti-social behaviour which had come to the Council's attention and the Council had decided to refuse her the house telling her she was not
entitled to it.
He said the housing authority had a heavy responsiblity under the scheme and for that reason the relevant Act provided, where the authority had good and reasonable grounds, that it might back away from completing a transaction.
The authority also had to walk on eggshells in dealing with information of this nature as it might compromise garda sources and put at risk varous gardai who might have come forward, he added.