Asta Kelly meeting members of the Occupy Dame Street movement outside her former home in Killiney, Dublin, yesterday to thank them for occupying the Dublin city sheriff's office over her eviction

MEMBERS of the Occupy Dame Street movement formed an unlikely alliance yesterday with the retired landlord and his wife who have been evicted from their plush five-bedroom home.

Brendan Kelly (71) and his German wife Asta Kelly (63) have been camping in a tent outside their palatial home in well-heeled Killiney, south Dublin, since it was repossessed on Wednesday over the couple's failure to pay off a €2m mortgage borrowed from Anglo Irish Bank.

Mr and Mrs Kelly made headlines after they were dragged from their home and forcibly removed by bailiffs on foot of a repossession order.

But it emerged yesterday that the couple own 21 other properties in a vast portfolio amassed since the early 1990s.

But that didn't deter Occupy Dame Street campaigners from visiting the couple yesterday to show their support.

"It doesn't matter how many properties they have in their portfolio," John Rogers said.

"They are in negative equity like much of the country and the bank should have given them a chance to make smaller payments or come to some kind of arrangement," he said.

Screaming

"But to drag an old man from his home kicking and screaming is not right. If anyone in this country doesn't see that then they mustn't have a heart."

Fellow protester Finbar Markey said Mr Kelly was duped by the banks who lent people money despite knowing that the property bubble would burst. "He was doing what was part of our culture," he said.

The Occupy Dame Street movement was formed last October as part of the anti-banking and capitalist backlash around the world sparked by the 'Occupy Wall Street' protests. The group have been camping out on Dame Street since they were force to move from their camp outside the Central Bank last month.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny waded into the fray yesterday, calling it "a very peculiar case".

Finance Minister Michael Noonan also said that landlords who owned 21 homes would not get the same protection from eviction afforded to those who have no means to pay.

"We must distinguish between people who can't pay and people who won't pay. For those who can't pay, we have a series of policies so the banks will deal with them on a case-by-case basis to relieve the burden," he said during a visit to the Northern Trust in Limerick yesterday.

"The Government has pledged as far as possible to keeping people in their homes. We have no pledge to keep people in 21 different homes," he said.

The Kellys could not be reached for comment last night.

However, the couple has repeatedly refused to discuss the huge investments and extensive mortgages they secured, including apartments in the leafy Dublin suburbs of Donnybrook, Ballsbridge, Stillorgan and Rathmines.

The Kellys claim they have been unable to sell off any of the properties due to the collapse in the housing market, nor move into them because they are under lease.

However, Bob Jordan, director of the housing agency Threshold, confirmed landlords can move into their own properties once the lease with a tenant expires. Residential leases are typically for one calendar year, he added.

They would also be entitled to move into their rental property without being required to give a tenant notice during the first six months of the tenancy.

The Kellys have vowed to continue staging their sit-in outside the now-empty property in the gated St Matthias Wood estate to protest against how their eviction was handled.

Irish Independent