Disgrace As Courts Hold Repossessions In Secret To Avoid Protests.
The Journal.ie reports; EFFORTS BY THE Court Services in Limerick to try to stifle protesters interrupting hearings of banks’ applications for home repossessions – by not advertising the court publicly – have been heavily criticised by protest groups. The Court Services in Limerick has stopped publishing the dates of applications for home repossession orders, as part of an unprecedented security measure, aimed at preventing large protests at the court. A well-placed source in the courts service revealed the decision to stop advertising the schedule for repossession application hearings was made locally, and without the knowledge of the courts service headquarters, based in Dublin. The Limerick court was forced to abandon repossession applications on 6 May last year when a wave of anti-eviction protesters interrupted proceedings. There were chaotic scenes inside the court when more than 100 protesters entered Court Number One and objected to the hearings.The source also revealed how extra gardaí will be dispatched to the court during the repossession hearings. “The repossession court is operating under a new regime. It is not publishing the list. The list (of cases) are being broken up over several days. There is no set day for the hearings anymore. People are advised in advance, that’s the way it will continue,” the source said. “There is no fixed date for cases online anymore. The lists had got too big and unmanageable. The lack of publication is as much for privacy of the borrowers as to void further protests disrupting the court,” the source added.“There will be no publication of the list to the general public, except to the borrowers, through the lenders,” they reiterated. Brian McCarthy, spokesman for Distressed Mortgage Holders group, and the Anti Eviction Taskforce, who took part in last year’s protest, said the courts were participating in “skulduggery” by introducing the measures.“They are trying to divide and conquer the protests. It’s outrageous. We are just trying to advise people of their rights – people who do not understand what is happening to them in these courts,” he said.“While this makes it very difficult for us, this will not stop us protesting, not a hope.”