The mortgage debt crisis has spiralled out of control as a result of Government inaction, and a generation of Irish people are “locked into an endless battle of attrition with the banks”, a leading arrears advocacy group has claimed, the Irish Times reported. However, a group representing the banking industry dismissed suggestions that the crisis was worsening and welcomed what it described as the “slowing pace of increase” in arrears.

The billionaire Barclay brothers, who are battling property developer Patrick McKillen for control of three London luxury hotels, have made repeated bids to buy his €300 million in personal debt held by Irish Bank Resolution Corporation, the Irish Times reported. Under the three-part offer, the brothers would pay €150 million for IBRC-held debts on Mr McKillen’s stake in the Berkeley, Connaught and Claridge’s hotels; £50 million for security on other debts, along with offering to return to IBRC 90 per cent of all other debts recovered from Mr McKillen.

Trade unions are planning to hold a series of demonstrations and rallies around the country in February to call for a restructuring of Ireland’s debt, the Irish Times reported. Unions have argued that such a restructuring of debt is a prerequisite for economic recovery and a necessary condition for the maintenance of social cohesion. The proposed demonstrations will be timed to coincide with a meeting of the EU Council of Ministers and would take place in advance of the planned payment of €3.1 billion by the Government on the Anglo Irish Bank promissory note.

Ireland's government must detail Wednesday tough spending cuts and tax increases in its budget for 2013 which could strain the public's grudging acceptance of the austerity imposed by an international bailout, as the country continues to wrestle with its worst-ever debt crisis, The Wall Street Journal reported. Since the property market collapsed in 2008 bringing down the country's banking sector, Ireland has brought in €25 billion ($32 billion) in austerity measures, and each successive budget forces increasingly painful choices.

Ireland's new insolvency regime may push losses at participating banks higher in the short term but the laws are an important part of resolving the crisis in the sector, the central bank said on Wednesday, Reuters reported. In response to growing arrears among homeowners and outdated bankruptcy laws, Ireland has proposed new non-judicial routes for struggling mortgage holders to settle both unsecured and secured debts of up to 3 million euros ($3.9 million). The new laws are being passed through parliament and set to be introduced early next year.

Former subordinated bondholders in Bank of Ireland and Allied Irish Banks are seeking recompense for being forced to take just one cent for every EUR1,000 of such bonds they held, Reuters reported today. This follows hedge fund Assenagon's successful suit in the English High Court against Anglo Irish Bank in July for executing similar coercive actions.

Indebted Irish publisher Independent News & Media plans to ask its lenders to write off up to 100 million euros ($127 million) of debt as part of a wider overhaul, Britain's Sunday Times reported. The company on Friday said it will need urgent and substantial restructuring in response to high levels of debt and tough trading. A spokesman on Sunday declined to comment on the report that the company was seeking to write off debt. The publisher hopes to secure agreement on the debt write-off with a consortium of eight banks by early next year, the newspaper reported without citing sources.

Mortgage misery will be eased for thousands next month, but only if the banks play ball, the Irish Times reported in a commentary. This week, the most important piece of legislation to come from this Government reaches report stage in Dail Eireann. It will then do one more lap of the Oireachtas before being passed into law next month. Minister Shatter's intention for the Personal Insolvency Bill is admirable, but its success requires a fundamental shift from the banks in how they deal with borrowers. The Bill provides three legal mechanisms.

Lending to Irish households and businesses fell in the year to the end of September and the European Central Bank has said it expects access to funds to tighten further in the coming months, the Irish Times reported. Figures released by the Central Bank of Ireland yesterday show that loans to Irish households were 3.7 per cent lower in the 12 months to September 30th. The monthly rate of decline was unchanged in September, with an €88 million fall in lending during the month.

An average of almost seven Irish companies went bust every day from October 1-25, according to the latest figures from the credit risk analysis firm Vision-net, the Irish Examiner reported. Vision-net’s figures, covering the period between October 1 and 25, show that 168 companies were declared insolvent - up 39% on the same month last year. Of those, 110 were liquidated, 54 entered receivership, and an examiner was appointed to four companies.