Updated 9.53pm

THE GOVERNMENT HAS said it will not be commenting on the €2.47m judgment entered against the Minister of State for Small Business John Perry and his wife at the Commercial Court today.

The Fine Gael TD and his wife consented to the judgment for €2.47 million being entered against them following a case filed by Danske Bank which sued the couple over loans connected to a number of properties in Perry’s Sligo-North Leitrim constituency.

RTÉ reports that the couple accepted they had no bona fide defence to the judgment but contradicted several claims in the bank’s affidavits. Judge Peter Kelly entered the judgment for €2,474,346 but granted the couple a stay on execution and registration of the judgment until 2 September.

Danske Bank did not return a request for comment at the time of publication while a spokesperson for Perry could not be reached for comment.

A government spokesperson said: “We’ve no comment, the matter is before the courts, so we wouldn’t comment on it.”

First published 6.30pm

Government minister: There are people emigrating by choice