Cost of personal insolvency slashed

The cost to individuals of filing for bankruptcy in Ireland has been slashed to €270 from about €1,400 a year ago in a bid to make the process more affordable for those in financial distress.

This is in addition to the Insolvency Service of Ireland (ISI) waiving fees until the end of 2015 relating to personal insolvency arrangements (PIAs). These previously cost about €500.

The lower fees for bankruptcy were quietly introduced on December 31st. It involves a fee of €200 as a contribution to the work of the official assignee in bankruptcy cases. This fee was previously €650.

There is also a fee of €70 for the placement of a notice in Iris Oifigiúil, the State gazette.

Previously, bankrupts also had to pay court stamp fees of €190, a charge of €20 for an affidavit, and the costs of placing notices in national newspapers. These notices can now be placed on the ISI’s website at no cost.

Fees reduction welcomed

Fianna Fáil

finance spokesman Michael McGrath welcomed the reduction in fees. “The removal of any barrier to people accessing these services is a good thing,” he said.

Bankruptcy is a High Court process that deals with unsecured debt such as personal loans, credit card and business loans, and secured debt such as mortgages. It normally lasts for three years and results in all debts being written off.

The ISI will today publish its statistics for its various insolvency solutions. It is expected to show more than 1,000 cases were handled last year, of which about 400 were bankruptcies.

It is understood the number of cases filed picked up in the fourth quarter as changes were made to the cost of the various scenarios.