Danske Bank steps up action against former FG junior minister John Perry

Arthur Beesley, Irish Times, 22 July 2014

Court judgment registered for the repayment of a €2.47m debt

The judgment was quietly registered by Danske last Tuesday, the day John Perry lost his job as minister of state for small business

Danske Bank has escalated its actions against former Fine Gael junior minister John Perry, registering a court judgment against him for the repayment of a €2.47 million debt.

Although this step is largely procedural, it clears the way for the bank to take further action against Mr Perry if it ever deems that necessary.

The judgment was quietly registered by Danske last Tuesday, the day he lost his job as minister of state for small business when the Cabinet reshuffled the junior ministerial ranks of Government.

The registered judgment against Mr Perry, Fine Gael TD for Sligo-North Leitrim, appears in today’s edition of Stubbs Gazette, which publishes all such judgments.

Judgment for a similar amount was also registered against his wife, Marie.

There was no response yesterday from Mr Perry’s solicitors, Danske had no comment on the matter and there was no comment either from Fine Gael’s official spokesman.

‘In due course’
Attempts to reach Mr Perry via Leinster House and via his constituency office were unsuccessful. However, in weekend comments to other media Mr Perry was quoted saying the judgment will be satisfied “in due course”.

The judgment follows on from a Commercial Court judgment against Mr Perry last year over the debt due to Danske. The Perrys later reached a deal with Danske last year to restructure the debt.

Court records filed in connection with the case suggested the Sligo-based TD had been engaged in prolonged and intensive talks with Danske since January 2012, less than a year after he took ministerial office

At the same time, he maintained a tough line on the banks generally in his public remarks.

The court records also showed that Mr Perry used his formal ministerial title in correspondence with Danske on his private difficulties.

Tax arrears
Court documents suggested he received loans from Bank of Ireland to pay off tax arrears.

Exhibits filed in the Commercial Court included minutes of a January 2012 meeting with Danske in which Mr Perry said Bank of Ireland agreed a 10-year loan for tax arrears of some €100,000. He also said that AIB agreed a loan to pay other creditors €125,000.

Mr Perry survived a political onslaught last year after a Commercial Court judgment against him. He kept his ministerial job at that time, although many in Government circles had questioned his command of the small business portfolio.