Horrific debt disaster in Border counties

"It would make you weep if you were confronted with some of the families in Cavan and Monaghan who now find themselves in crippling debt. You would be heartbroken if you knew the amount of people that are on the edge and even suicidal." That is the stark and shocking revelation from one of Ireland's leading debt management mediation company fronted by Michelle Lynch in Belturbet. The founding director of the company says many families in this region are just waiting to send the children back to school to get an opportunity to face the reality of their situation. Now TV3 and presenter Brian O'Donavan are doing a two-part documentary called 'Surviving The Recession' and how it is impacting on people on the ground. The TV3 team are working with the Belturbet debt management mediation company to get a unique perspective into the situation. While the realities of the situation will be set out in the programmes, Michelle Lynch says hope will be offered together with advice. The programmes are scheduled to go out at 9pm on Thursday September 17 and Thursday, September 24, after the NAMA debate in the Dáil on September 16. "The tone and tenor of some of the conversations we are having with clients are becoming more harrowing by the day and that is the truth," said a clearly moved Michelle Lynch. She revealed that people have been getting loans to pay off their main loans and "this is leading to the most incredible vicious circle". "I am saying to people to stop borrowing to pay off debts because the situation is spiralling out of control. The banks have to reopen the lines of communication and fully understand what is happening with clients on the ground," said Michelle. "Regardless of what happens when NAMA comes into being, the reality will be that it will only handle the debt of the large developers but it will not filter down to the mid level sector." Michelle added that unfortunately people believe that once NAMA is in place that the banks will be recapitalised and that they will be able to reconsolidate their loans. "The banks will be open for commercial banking business but the requirements will be incredibly stringent," she explained. Michelle also believes that the country is facing a savage budget. "I will be sitting down with politicians and senior bankers and we will be telling them what we are finding on the ground and that it can be turned around, if there is a realistic approach to the problems facing us." It is not unusual to see people in Cavan and Monaghan coming through Michelle's door who owe in the region of €1.5 million to €2 million. "These are both businesses and individuals. One individual has several houses and no rent coming in and just mortgages and negative equity in the extreme." Michelle is telling the banks to get real. The banks have the bad debt from various businesses yet they are still in business. These businesses are working out of either credit unions, working in the black economy or working with another bank. So they are keeping their real money in another institution, explains Michelle. Some local bank managers will be faced with the prospect of taking some unpalatable decisions, which will affect their customers in the coming months. A major issue is the fact that a lot of loans were not secured properly. Having lived through a recession in Dallas, Michelle predicts that we have a good five to seven years "before we even begin to see a turnaround in this financial crisis". If NAMA becomes a reality; "Our children will be inheriting that." The Anglo-Celt also understands that banks and mortgage companies are sending out letters to vacant houses where people borrowed millions and then bailed out of the country. The letters are arriving at the empty houses and the lending institutions don't yet know the people concerned have fled. Some have gone to countries which do not have any extradition arrangements with Ireland.