Ireland

An Irish government-commissioned mortgage arrears review group has called for a removal of the current €3 million secured debt limit for individuals to secure insolvency deals, under measures aimed at tackling more than 20,000 long-term arrears cases in the State, the Irish Times reported. A debtor with secured debts in excess of €3 million is not currently eligible to make a proposal for a personal insolvency arrangement (PIA), unless all secured creditors agree to disregard the cap.

Creches face going "insolvent" if the Irish government fails to provide sufficient funding to providers, it has been warned, the Irish Examiner reported. Federation of Early Childhood Providers (FECP) chairwoman Elaine Dunne said that many more creches and playschools would depart from the core funding model if changes are not made. Currently, childcare providers who accept core funding cannot increase existing prices beyond a strict limit of €33.30 per week. They have argued they cannot continue to operate without additional funds.

The system, which has fielded more than 50,000 applications since its creation and was one of the first of its kind in Europe, has been intensely scrutinized since February when a tribunal ordered the regulator to reassess its refusal to authorize the would-be chairman of two Irish investment funds, Bloomberg News reported.

The first six months of this year have seen the highest rate of corporate insolvencies in Ireland since 2018, according to a study by Deloitte, the Irish Independent reported. Their research found there have been 412 insolvencies since January – up 25pc on the same period in 2023. Of those, 77 were in the hospitality sector, which was an 88 percent year-on-year increase. Deloitte calculates that Ireland is on course for over 800 insolvencies in the full year, which would be 25pc up on 2023. Almost all the firms going bust are small- and medium-sized enterprises.

The Insolvency Service of Ireland said that it saw an increase in demand for its services last year with applications for insolvency solutions, other than bankruptcy, increasing by 20% compared to 2022, RTE.ie reported. In its annual report released Friday, the ISI said 72 people were adjudicated bankrupt in 2023, down from 105 in 2022. 99 people also exited bankruptcy last year. More than 1,560 new insolvency applications were made last year, while the ISE website reported a total of 87,791 visits.

Since its chaotic handling of the alleged cheating scandal in 2022, the reputation of An Coimisiún Le Rincí­ Gaelacha (CLRG) has hinged on it trying to bring the cases of the 44 people accused of so-called feis fixing to a satisfactory conclusion. That will now never happen. And in the midst of the latest scandal, it has also emerged the CLRG is facing insolvency, the Irish Independent reported. Those who had been accused are furious: many maintain that had they had the benefit of a hearing, they would have been cleared of gross misconduct.

Office landlords, battered by a global crash, have been clinging to the hope that new buildings with strong green credentials will still demand top rents and prices. Dublin is emerging as a cautionary tale that such optimism may not hold up, Bloomberg News reported. In the city’s North Docks district, new buildings are falling into bankruptcy protection after US tech firms scaled back the amount of new space they leased and borrowing costs rose.

Lawyers for top liquidator Kieran Wallace cannot “drive a coach and four” through insolvency legislation with a novel claim for over €6 million on behalf of an insolvent pension fund, a State barrister has said, the Irish Times reported. The remark was made on the final day of hearing into a complaint under the Protection of Employees (Employers’ Insolvency) Act 1984, taken by Mr Wallace against the Minister for Enterprise.

A builder who became insolvent ­following the construction sector crash in the late 2000s has had more than €2.2m in debt written off in return for a lump-sum payment of €80,000, the Irish Independent reported. Under a personal insolvency arrangement (PIA) approved by the High Court, David Lawlor (60) will be able to retain his family home, which was in negative equity. The court heard Mr Lawlor, a separated farmer and maintenance worker from Dragoon Hill, Hollywood, Co Wicklow, had overall debts of €2.7m.

Activity in the Republic of Ireland’s services sector expanded again in February but the growth was accompanied “by rising price pressures”, AIB has said, the Irish Times reported. The bank’s latest purchasing managers index for services rose to 54.4 last month, up from 50.5 in January, signalling the fastest rate of expansion in six months. Any figure above 50 indicates expansion. The increased level of activity, however, was accompanied by a worrying uptick with input prices and charges rising at the fastest rates in 10 and 12 months respectively.