DUBLIN CITY COUNCIL has this afternoon asked the Supreme Court to vacate its planned appeal next week over an earlier order forcing it to cover the costs of reaccommodating the residents of Priory Hall.

The council this afternoon asked Justice Adrian Hardiman to vacate next Tuesday’s hearing, saying it wanted time to allow a “resolution process” involving itself, the residents, and the banks or building societies to whom the residents owe their mortgages.

It is intended that former Supreme Court judge Justice Joseph Finnegan will chair this resolution process, which will set aside the ongoing the previous legal proceedings in an effort to find new ground between the parties.

Justice Hardiman, approving the request, said the proposal was a “very good development” and “promising”.

The news means that the residents will now not face the possibility of being evicted from their current accommodation this week; if the council had successfully appealed the High Court’s ruling, the residents themselves would have been forced to pay for their current housing.

Residents said they would not be able to afford to pay for their own accommodation in addition to meeting mortgage repayments for their Priory Hall properties.

Environment minister Phil Hogan said the proposed process was an “appropriate context” for the parties to work together in order to find a solution to their difficulties.

“I would encourage the financial institutions, the residents of Priory Hall and Dublin City Council to have an open mind and to engage fully with this new process to give it every chance to succeed,” he said.

Graham Usher, a spokesman for the Priory Hall residents, said the residents had only received details of the proposed talks last night, and declined to comment further.