100 declared bankruptcy in Galway since 2014

More than 100 people declared bankruptcy in Galway over the past four years, according to a new report from the Insolvency Service of Ireland.

The figures show that from the first quarter of 2014 to the first quarter of 2018 there were a total of 107 bankruptcies here.

And a further 164 people came to insolvency arrangements with creditors during the same period through Debt Relief Notices (DRN), Debt Settlement Arrangements (DSA) or Personal Insolvency Arrangements (PIA).

The majority of debt is related to mortgages, the figures show.

Where certain criteria are met for debt, a DRN allows the write-off of up to €35,000 subject and the person is subject to a three-year supervision period.

A DSA allows for the agreed settlement of unsecured debt (with no limits) over a period of up to five years.

A PIA allows the restructuring or settlement of secured debts of up to €3m and the settlement of unsecured debt over a period of up to six years.

The Galway figures show there was a rate of 5.5 bankruptcies per 10,000 adults – comparative figures show Cavan had the worst rate at 8.9 per 10,000 (49 people), while Kerry had the lowest at 3.3 (37 people).

Dublin recorded a rate of 4.4 (463 people); Wicklow 7.8 (81 people); Limerick 4 (59 people); Cork 5.9 (241) and Waterford 7.6 (66 people).

For the three forms of insolvency arrangement (DRN, DSA and PIA), the rate in Galway was 8.4 per 10,000 adults (164). The highest rate was in Waterford at 35.1 (305) while the lowest rate was in Limerick at 5.1 (76 people).

Other rates included Carlow at 25.2 (106 people); Dublin at 7.1 (745); Cork at 15.5 (633) and Wicklow at 18.5 (193 people).

Nationally, a breakdown of the debt involved in insolvency arrangements in the first quarter of 2018 (a total value of €1.164 billion) shows 50.5% (€588m) related to Buy-To-Let investor mortgages; 25.5% (€296.6m) owed to financial institutions; 18.8% (€218.8m) related to mortgages on people’s homes; 0.9% (€10.2m) to Revenue; 0.4% (€4.6m) to credit unions. A further 3.9% (just under €45.9m) was classed as ‘other debt’.

Lorcan O’Connor, Director of the Insolvency Service of Ireland, said: “While there are some fluctuations within the statistics, the number of debtors securing Personal Insolvency Arrangements, the solution that returns debtors to solvency while keeping them in their home in over 90% of cases, continues to rise.”