Former tenant was spending €500 a month on gambling, court told

A 58 year old man has been ordered to pay €500 a month to a landlord after he accumulated a debt of over €23,000 in rent.

The order was made at Sligo District Court against Declan McSharry of Drum Co. Sligo arising from his renting of an apartment at City Gate in the town.

The applicants, Grant Thornton Pensioners Trustees Ltd were represented by Mr Eugene Deering BL instructed by MacSweeney and Company Solicitors who sought an instalment order against Mr McSharry who was represented by Mr Ciaran White, solicitor.

Mr Deering outlined to the court that Mr McSharry owed €23,415.58 in rent arrears and he was no longer renting the property at City Gate.

Mr White said his client had a pension from working with the HSE along with an invalidity pension. He added that Mr McSharry had a gambling problem and that he recently started engaging with MABS (The Money Advice and Budgeting Service).

Judge Éiteáín Cunningham said that Mr McSharry spent a significant amount of time doing nothing to deal with his debt problem.

Mr White agreed and said that his client put his head in the sand in regard to the issue.

Mr McSharry told the court that “hand on my heart I never received any correspondence prior to July 4” on his debt issue. Mr McSharry continued that he now resided in his home house in Drum with his brother and that he moved there in 2023.

Mr McSharry said that he owned half of the house, with his brother owning the other half. He estimated the property’s value to be €300,000.

He outlined to the court that he has type two diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and that he was currently taking 20 tablets per day for various ailments.

He said that he worked in St John’s Hospital, Sligo for 24 years and that he retired on health grounds in 2021. Mr McSharry said that he mostly gambled on horses.

When asked by his solicitor on how much he could pay back in an instalment order, Mr McSharry replied €40 to €50 a week.

Mr Deering then cross-examined Mr McSharry. He told the respondent that he had a booklet of correspondence of emails sent to him. Mr McSharry said that he never got them.

Judge Cunningham said that she was looking at a list of dates going back three years.

Mr Deering asked Mr McSharry if he had any correspondence with the RTB. He replied that he contacted them due to an inspection at his apartment which found quite a lot of dampness.

Mr Deering read out an adjudicator’s report out of an RTB meeting over the debt issue which said that Mr McSharry contacted the board to tell them that he would not be attending and that the adjudicator decided to proceed in his absence.

Mr McSharry replied that he was not aware of that and that he accepted that he owed money but that he just found the figure a little bit excessive.

When asked by Mr Deering if he got a lump sum when he retired from the HSE, Mr McSharry replied that he got around €48,000. He also confirmed that he had an account with Boyle Sports and that he gambled around €500 a month.

Mr McSharry said that he also had a savings account and that he took out around €200 on one day from his current account to put into that account.

In reply to Judge Cunningham’s question on what happened the €48,000, Mr McSharry replied that he bought a car for €8,000, that he spent a lot on clothes over a period of time and that he had ‘blown the rest of it on gambling.’

Mr McSharry also confirmed that he gambled approximately €1,500 in the last three months.

Under further questioning by Mr Deering, the respondent admitted that he spent €120 a week on cigarettes and that he smoked a packet a day.

Mr McSharry acknowledged that he also owed €733 in parking fines from mostly parking on Stephen Street in Sligo to meet up with his friends for a coffee and a chat. He admitted that the parking fines also arose by him going into town to bet at the Boyle Sports shop at Rockwood Parade.

The court heard that Mr McSharry entered into an agreement with Sligo County Council on August 13 to pay €15 a week to clear the parking fine debt.

Mr Deering put it to Mr McSharry that he contacted Cabot, a debt purchase and credit management company in June 2018 to help him with another debt of €3,409.06 and Mr McSharry confirmed this.

Judge Cunningham directed Mr McSharry to pay €500 a month to Grant Thornton Pensions Ltd. Given the nature and complexity of the case she also directed costs for counsel. She told Mr McSharry that she hoped that he would continue engaging with MABS.

Article funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme.