There has been continued strong growth in personal insolvency arrangements, which rose by 31% in 2018 compared to the previous year.
Personal insolvency arrangements are designed to return debtors to solvency while keeping them in their home in over 95% of cases.
According to the latest statistical report by Insolvency Service of Ireland, the number of arrangements are up 41% in the fourth quarter of the year compared to the equivalent quarter in 2017.
Lorcan O’Connor, Director of the ISI, said while there are some fluctuations within the statistics, the overall trend continues to point towards more people seeking to avail of the solutions available through the ISI that return insolvent debtors to solvency.
"It is encouraging to see a one-third increase in the number of people availing of the Personal Insolvency Arrangement solution – the solution designed to keep people in their homes," Mr O'Connor said.
"In over 95% of such cases, Personal Insolvency Practitioners have delivered permanent solutions that keep the debtor in their home while also returning them to solvency," he added.
The varying solutions secured during 2018, according to ISI, shows the depth and breadth of the power held by Personal Insolvency Practitioners to rehabilitate mortgages while keeping borrowers in their home.
Solutions secured during the year included the write down of some or all of the negative equity in order to make a mortgage sustainable; warehousing a portion of a mortgage in contemplation of a likely future event; term extension; interest rate reduction; fixing interest rates for duration of remaining mortgage; mortgage to rent or debt for equity.
