Bankruptcies to quadruple in 2016 - registered PIP

The number of bankruptcies in County Cavan is expected to quadruple this year as a result of a new one-year bankruptcy regime.
That’s according to Personal Insolvency Practitioner (PIP) Mark Reilly, a parter in KBG Chartered Accountants, Cavan, He’s predicting around 25 bankruptcies in the county this year and as many as 30 in neighbouring County Monaghan.
Figures recorded for 2014 and 2015 under the existing three-year bankruptcy regime show there were 10 people declared bankrupt in Cavan, 13 in Monaghan; while there were 10 recorded in Longford and three in Leitrim during the same period.
The new regime, which will put the process here on a par with the system in Northern Ireland, could those applicants declared bankrupt within six weeks via High Court proceedings.
“The number of enquiries since Monday week has trebled,” Mr Reilly told the Celt.
In Ireland in 2013, there were approximately 60 bankruptcies; while in 2014, there were 450 and similar numbers in 2015.
“We are now looking at 1,500 to 1,600 in 2016,” he predicted.
The new one-year bankruptcy regime will begin when a Ministerial Order is signed. This is expected to be done before the Dail is dissolved, prior to the election.
In bankruptcy you lose all your assets but you also lose all your liabilities.
In order to be declared bankrupt in Ireland, applicants have to go through a registered PIP, who files the relevant documentation to the Insolvency Service of Ireland.
A High Court date is then assigned and it is usual that the PIP will be present in court with the person seeking bankruptcy.
Once the person is declared bankrupt, the creditors must contact the ISI in relation to any debts owed. “They can walk out of the High Court with all that weight lifted off their shoulders – that is a huge thing for people,” said Mr Reilly.
He further revealed that the numbers of people applying for bankruptcy are increasing dramatically.
“The age profile of people going bankrupt varies. I have been involved in bankruptcies where the youngest person was 28 and I was recently involved in one where the individual was 72 years of age,” he said. Mr Reilly points out that when you are bankrupt, you are not permitted to leave the country without notifying the Official Asignee aware of the fact. “The Official Asignee has no problem for instance with you going to the UK for a job, assuming that you give him details of what you are earning.
“People have a misconception that you can’t work if you are a bankrupt – that is incorrect – you are entitled to work if you are a bankrupt,” he explained.