As the Deputy is aware, the Insolvency Service of Ireland (ISI) began accepting cases in September 2013. The ISI releases its statistics on a quarterly basis and the most up to date figures reflecting Quarter 4 of 2014 were published today on their website www.isi.gov.ie. 2014 was the ISI’s first full year of operation and during that time almost 1000 debt solutions were approved, comprising 547 alternatives to bankruptcy and 448 bankruptcy cases.
In the case of Debt Relief Notices (DRNs), 100% of applications made were successful. There is no creditors meeting and no DRNs were rejected by the ISI or the Courts. 85% of Debt Settlement Arrangements (DSAs) were successful and 71% of Personal Insolvency Arrangements (PIAs) were successful.
Overall, 75% of DSAs and PIAs were successful. It is encouraging that three out of four cases are being supported by creditors and the number of PIAs - the solution that deals with mortgage debt and aims to keep the debtor in their home - approved in Q4 increased by 148% over Q3 and also exceeded the previous three quarters combined.
Successful applications 2014
DRN
|
DSA
|
PIA
|
Total
|
251
|
97
|
199
|
547
|
Unsuccessful applications 2014
DRN
|
DSA
|
PIA
|
Total
|
0
|
18
|
81
|
99
|
Successful applications 2013 (September to December)
DRN
|
DSA
|
PIA
|
Total
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
Unsuccessful applications 2013 (September to December)
DRN
|
DSA
|
PIA
|
Total
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
The ISI launched a number of initiatives last autumn through its ‘Back on Track’ campaign, (www.backontrack.ie) including the waiving of application fees until the end of 2015. Through these initiatives, activity levels are expected to continue to increase.