Ireland

Professional debt negotiators will be allowed to set their own rates and charge upfront fees from struggling debtors going through the State's new insolvency process, The Independent reported. According to confidential draft regulations to be published later this month, personal insolvency practitioners (PIPs) can charge initial consultation or assessment fees and the actual rates will be left to the practitioners themselves. The Insolvency Service of Ireland says the rates will be dictated by the "market" and it won't be issuing guidelines on how much PIPs should charge.

Orpington Structured Finance I has gross assets of €1.7 billion, which would make it one of the most valuable firms in Ireland. Except it has no employees. It has no buildings or machinery. Nor does it pay any tax. It is one of hundreds of so-called financial-vehicle corporations, which are companies set up to house or trade in securitised investments, in other words to package and resell loans.

Extra efforts to engage with the unemployed to get them back to work are required, according to the EU/IMF troika after its latest visit to Ireland, the Irish Times reported. The troika also says that strict implementation of this year’s budget is essential to keep the country on track to exit the bailout. In a statement today on its tenth review of the implementation of the bailout programme the troika said significant progress had been made but remaining challenges required continuing policy efforts.

The Central Bank has published a new plan aimed at helping those in financial distress but who do not qualify for personal insolvency, the Irish Times reported. The pilot scheme will “enhance co-operation between lenders of secured and unsecured debt in order to fairly resolve distressed debt for the borrower”, according to the bank. It is understood the scheme will in some cases include a write-down of some debt. “Restructuring by lenders will be necessary to deal with many different indebtedness scenarios”, the bank adds in a document published on its website this afternoon.

The High Court has ordered the winding up of developer John McCabe’s main trading company in the Republic following a petition from a creditor that has been pursuing the business for eight months, the Irish Times reported. Following a petition from MCR Personnel, the court ordered that McCabe Builders Ltd be wound up and appointed Kieran Wallace of KPMG as liquidator. Last autumn, the National Asset Management Agency appointed Jim Hamilton and David O’Connor of BDO as receivers over the company’s properties, in effect giving them control over it.

Ireland has resolved a standoff with international lenders over the timing of so-called "stress tests" of its bailed-out banks that threatened to cloud its exit from an EU-IMF rescue deal at the end of the year, four sources close to the matter said, the Irish Times reported. The government has agreed the tests - aimed at gauging banks' resilience to economic shocks - could take place ahead of a Europe-wide exercise, in line with the European Union and International Monetary Fund's desire for the banks to be checked before the end of Ireland's sovereign bailout deal in December.

The Insolvency Service of Ireland has confirmed that a VAT rate of 23% will be applied to the fees paid to insolvency practitioners, RTÉ News reported. The service, which will regulate the work of Personal Insolvency Practitioners (PIPS), was established in March. The Independent Mortgage Advisers Federation has criticised the application of VAT, saying it will make the insolvency process more expensive. "This will cause concern for both debtors and creditors," said Michael Dowling. Mr Dowling said: "Ultimately, this is going to impact on the cost on the process.

Enough customers have waived their claims against Intrade to allow the struggling online prediction market to remain solvent and pursue legal action against the estate of its founder, John Delaney, according to a director of the company, the Financial Times reported. The development comes weeks after the Dublin-based prediction market, which allowed customers to bet on everything from presidential elections to film box-office receipts, said it was likely to become insolvent and eventually liquidate after discovering a $700,000 shortfall in its customer segregated accounts.

Ireland faces at least two more years of tax increases and spending cuts before an easing of austerity in 2016, the Irish Times reported. According to the first formal projections for government spending and tax revenues beyond 2015, a neutral budget in 2016 depends on recovery in the Irish and international economies, the successful implementation of austerity budgets every year up to 2015, and no large additional banking costs.

Irish entertainment rental and retail firm Xtra-vision has fallen into receivership after being "unable to meet its debts", MCVUK.com reported. The chain has 152 stores and 1,023 employees, according to Retail Week. It is unknown how many jobs will be lost. Xtra-vision cited steep declines in the movie rental business for its entry into receivership. Troubles in this market also caused UK rental chain Blockbuster to enter administration back in January. While Blockbuster was bought by the Gordon Brothers last month, Ernst & Young has been appointed as the retailer's receiver.