Michael Brennan Deputy Political Editor – 03 September 2013
He and his wife Marie had been facing a deadline of reaching a deal with Danske Bank yesterday to repay the loans they took out in October 2011.
In a statement, the Junior Minister for Small Business said he had reached an agreement with Danske Bank over the €2.47m loan and that all his tax affairs were "up to date".
It is understood that Mr Perry has been given more time to repay the €2.47m he owes to Danske Bank – and that he has not been given any debt write-off.
But it will give a strong boost to Mr Perry's prospects of retaining his position as Junior Minister for Small Business.
If Danske Bank had insisted on Mr Perry repaying the money immediately, he faced the risk of bankruptcy. And under the law, any TD who is declared bankrupt has to give up their seat. TDs also have to be able to either obtain a certificate of tax compliance or a letter from the Revenue stating that they are in negotiations to be able to hold on to their seat.
Mr Perry had been facing questions about his tax affairs after court documents had apparently indicated him telling Danske Bank that Bank of Ireland had agreed to give him a 10-year loan to help him address tax arrears of €125,000.
A spokeswoman for Mr Perry said she did not have any details about his agreement with the bank.
"The details of the agreement between Mr Perry and his wife and the bank are confidential," the statement said.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny had said he should be given the time and space to sort out his affairs – and had been awaiting the outcome of yesterday's deadline laid down by the Commercial Court.
Last July, Mr Perry and his wife consented to a judgment for €2.47m against them at the Commercial Court over loans they had taken out with Danske Bank to restructure existing loans and an overdraft account.
Mr Justice Peter Kelly granted the couple a six-week stay until yesterday on the execution and registration of the €2.47m judgment.
Mr Perry has already faced calls to resign from Fianna Fail and Sinn Fein after it emerged that he personally contacted the head of state-owned bank AIB about his financial affairs.
A Fine Gael spokesman said he would be not be making any comment about Mr Perry's situation.
A spokesman for Danske Bank said it could not make any comment about the case due to customer confidentiality.
Irish Independent
