ISI
Statistics
Quarter 1 - 2014
Foreword
I am pleased to launch the first quarterly statistical report for the Insolvency Service of Ireland
(ISI).
During the course of the last twelve months, the ISI has overseen the introduction of the new
alternatives to bankruptcy introduced by the Personal Insolvency Act 2012 - the Debt Relief Notice
(DRN), the Debt Settlement Arrangement (DSA) and the Personal Insolvency Arrangement (PIA).
The bankruptcy regime has also been reformed through this Act. The automatic discharge period
for a bankruptcy is now 3 years, down from 12.
As a result of these efforts, insolvent debtors now have viable options open to them to deal with
their over indebtedness. The very fact that these options exist has also encouraged creditors and
insolvent debtors to reach settlements by way of informal arrangements. Where these solutions
are appropriate to a debtors circumstance, the ISI welcomes this development as the ultimate goal
of returning insolvent debtors to solvency is achieved.
As at the end of March 2014 the key statistics around the number of Protective Certificates issued,
the number of DRNs, DSAs and PIAs in place and the number of new bankruptcies are lower than
many expected. I believe as stakeholders become comfortable with the operation of these new
solutions, their uptake will increase. I'm encouraged by the significant number of new cases
entering our system since the beginning of the year and the feedback received from the Personal
Insolvency Practitioner and Approved Intermediary community which highlights an expectation
that the numbers will increase significantly over the coming months. The development of a
protocol between creditors and practitioners covering DSAs and PIAs will also assist in this regard.
These statistics will be updated on a quarterly basis and will be published in the Statistics section
of the ISI website www.isi.gov.ie.
Lorcan O'Connor
Director
3rd April 2014
These Statistics are for informational purposes only. No person should place reliance on the
accuracy of the statistics and should not act solely on the basis of them. The statistics are primarily
based upon cases created by duly authorised Approved Intermediaries and Personal Insolvency
Practitioners on the ISI Case Management System, the official registers of Approved Intermediaries
and Personal Insolvency Practitioners and the statement of affairs submitted by those seeking to
be declared Bankrupt. Figures cover the period 1 January 2014 to 31 March 2014 unless otherwise
stated.
Insolvency Service of Ireland – Statistics Quarter 1 2014
Page 2
Contents
Regulation ............................................................................................................................................ 4
Case Management – DRN, DSA, PIA .................................................................................................... 5
Debtor Profile - DRN, DSA, PIA ............................................................................................................. 8
Bankruptcy ......................................................................................................................................... 11
Telephone, email and website traffic ................................................................................................ 13
THE DEBT RELIEF NOTICE (DRN) ALLOWS FOR THE WRITE OFF OF
QUALIFYING DEBT UP TO €20,000, SUBJECT TO A 3 YEAR
SUPERVISION PERIOD.
THE DEBT SETTLEMENT ARRANGEMENT (DSA) PROVIDES FOR THE
AGREED SETTLEMENT OF UNSECURED DEBT WITH NO LIMITS
INVOLVED OVER A PERIOD, NORMALLY EXPECTED TO BE 5 YEARS.
THE PERSONAL INSOLVENCY ARRANGEMENT (PIA) WILL FACILITATE
THE RESTRUCTURING OR SETTLEMENT OF SECURED DEBT OF UP TO
€3M AND THE SETTLEMENT OF UNSECURED DEBT OVER A PERIOD,
NORMALLY EXPECTED TO BE 6 YEARS.
IN THE CASE OF A DSA OR PIA AFTER A PROTECTIVE CERTIFICATE
ISSUES, PERSONAL INSOLVENCY PRACTITIONERS (PIPS) WILL HAVE 70
DAYS IN WHICH TO DEVELOP AN ARRANGEMENT.
Insolvency Service of Ireland – Statistics Quarter 1 2014
Page 3
Regulation
128 Authorised Personal Insolvency Practitioners (PIP)
140
128
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
Aug-13
Sep-13
Oct-13
Nov-13
Dec-13
Jan-14
Feb-14
Mar-14
The ISI began authorising practitioners last Autumn. From an initial start of 32 there are now 128
Personal Insolvency Practitioners. This number continues to rise on a weekly basis.
Over 70 Approved Intermediaries (Authorised Individuals)
80
73
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Aug-13
Sep-13
Oct-13
Nov-13
Dec-13
Jan-14
Feb-14
Mar-14
The majority of MABS companies have been authorised as Approved Intermediaries (AI). Over 70
responsible persons are linked to these authorisations.
Insolvency Service of Ireland – Statistics Quarter 1 2014
Page 4
Case Management – DRN, DSA, PIA
Over 500 Applications for New Arrangements
Jan 1st
600
523
500
400
300
DRN
DSA
PIA
All
320
200
121
82
100
0
Sep-13
Oct-13
Nov-13
Dec-13
Jan-14
Feb-14
Mar-14
Since the ISI began accepting applications for the new personal insolvency arrangements 7 months
ago, practitioners have created over 500 new cases, representing almost 600 individual debtors.
These numbers do not include cases created on the ISI system and subsequently withdrawn by a PIP
or AI. There has been a marked increase in new cases created since January and the ISI is currently
receiving approximately 50 new cases per week.
70 Protective Certificates Issued
Jan 1st
80
70
60
70
DSA
50
PIA
40
41
All
30
29
20
10
0
Sep-13
Oct-13
Nov-13
Dec-13
Jan-14
Feb-14
Mar-14
To date, the Courts have issued 70 protective certificates to debtors. A protective certificate protects
a debtor and their assets from their creditors, while the PIP formulates a proposal for a DSA or a PIA.
A protective certificate remains in force for 70 days, but may be extended in certain circumstances.
Insolvency Service of Ireland – Statistics Quarter 1 2014
Page 5
55 Arrangements Approved
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
44
15
10
5
0
7
DRN
4
DSA
PIA
Since January, the Courts have issued 36 Debt Relief Notices (DRNs) and a further 8 have been
approved by the ISI and await Court approval. In addition, at the end of March, there were 7 DSAs
and 4 PIAs approved by Creditors, 3 and 4 of which respectively have been approved by the Courts.
Types of Application
Joint
(DSA, PIA)
8%
Individual
(DRN, DSA, PIA)
54%
Interlocking
(PIA only)
38%
An individual application is an application with a sole debtor. Where there are two (or more) debtors,
who are jointly liable for all of the debts to be included in a DSA or a PIA arrangement, a joint
application is appropriate. An interlocking application would be appropriate where two (or more)
PIAs are to be administered in common; usually because of the financial relationship of the debtors
involved. An example would be a couple, where the couple is jointly liable for some - but not all - of
the debts to be included in the PIA arrangement.
Insolvency Service of Ireland – Statistics Quarter 1 2014
Page 6
€193 Million Qualifying Debt
Financial Institutions
Trade Creditors
Credit Union
Contingent Debt
Revenue Debt
Other*
PPR Lender
* Other debt includes personal guarantees, utilities, store card/catalogues and professional fees.
The total debt involved in the approximately 520 cases currently with the ISI is just under €193
million. You can find a breakdown by type of debt in the chart above and table below.
€193 Million Qualifying Debt
PPR Lender
€ 87,448,761
45%
Financial Institutions
€ 69,257,427
36%
Trade Creditors
€ 15,403,669
8%
Credit Union
€ 4,557,252
2%
Contingent Debt
€ 3,789,070
2%
Revenue Debt
€ 3,660,847
2%
Other debt*
€ 8,836,799
5%
Total
€ 192,953,825
100%
Average Debt Write Off on Arrangements Approved by end of March (NB: small sample size)
•
The average % of secured debt proposed to be written off in a PIA is 19%, ranging from 0% to 39%
•
The average % of unsecured debt proposed to be written off in a PIA is 93%, ranging from 91% to 95%
•
The average % of unsecured debt proposed to be written off in a DSA is 77%, ranging from 37% to 95%
Insolvency Service of Ireland – Statistics Quarter 1 2014
Page 7
Debtor Profile - DRN, DSA, PIA
Occupation of Debtors
Unemployed
23%
Student
1%
Public Sector
14%
Self-employed
8%
Retired
2%
Other
2%
Housewife/
husband
8%
Private Sector
42%
Marital Status of Debtors
Widow/er
1%
Divorced or
Separated
12%
Single
21%
Married/Civil
Partner
66%
Insolvency Service of Ireland – Statistics Quarter 1 2014
Page 8
Age Profile of Debtors
45 - 54
30%
55 - 64
12%
65 +
2%
18 - 24
1%
35 - 44
40%
25 - 34
15%
Debtors by Gender
Female
42%
Male
58%
Insolvency Service of Ireland – Statistics Quarter 1 2014
Page 9
2.2%
1.2%
1.7%
2.7%
1.9%
1.0%
1.0%
0.7%
1.7%
3.4%
1.9%
4.6%
0.2%
4.1%
0.5%
1.2%
1.7%
6.3%
2.4%
6.3%
1.5%
6.8%
3.9%
1.0%
0.3%
39.8%
Geographic Spread of Applicants
Typical Timeline to Issue of Protective Certificate
Debtor's original
statutory declaration
received
Case Submitted
to ISI by PIP
Case initiated
by PIP
Day 1
2
ISI queries
issued
3
Application
verified
by ISI &
sent to Court
PIP response
received
4
5
CASE REVIEW
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
PC issued
by Court
15
16
17
18
CASE PROCESS
Above is a typical timeline, up to and including the issue of the protective certificate. After the protective
certificate issues, the PIP has 70 days, to formulate a proposal for a DSA or a PIA arrangement.
Insolvency Service of Ireland – Statistics Quarter 1 2014
Page 10
Bankruptcy
76 bankruptcy adjudications since term reduced to 3yrs.
80
76
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Dec-13
Jan-14
Feb-14
Mar-14
In December 2013 the bankruptcy term was reduced from 12 to 3 years. There have been 66
individuals adjudicated in the first quarter of 2014. The above chart is the cumulative of adjudicated
bankruptcy cases since the Act changed in December 2013.
Bankruptcy numbers
66
70
58
60
50
40
27
30
20
33
35
15
10
0
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014 (Q1)
The number of bankruptcies in Q1 2014, exceeds the total number in 2013. 2013 had seen the
highest number of new bankruptcies on record.
Insolvency Service of Ireland – Statistics Quarter 1 2014
Page 11
Petitioning Creditor vs Self Adjudications
70
63
60
Petitioning Creditor
Self Adjudications
50
40
30
20
10
3
0
2011
2012
2013
2014 - Q1
The amount of Self Adjudications (where a debtor rather than a creditor seeks to make themselves
bankrupt) has risen as a result of the Personal Insolvency Act 2012 from 7% in 2011 to 93% in the
first quarter 2014.
€136 Million Aggregate Bankruptcy Debt 2014
Unsecured Debt
€34,314,409
Secured Debt
€101,620,134
The total debt involved in Bankruptcy Adjudications in Q1 2014 is almost €136 million. This is made
up of 75% secured debt and 25% unsecured debt. In the case of secured debt, it is likely that current
market values of securities are significantly below debt levels.
Insolvency Service of Ireland – Statistics Quarter 1 2014
Page 12
Telephone, email and website traffic
Over 75,000 ISI publications issued
Printed Publications
23,962
PDF Downloads
52,007
The top 5 downloads from the site are: The Guidelines for Reasonable Living Expenses, the Guide for
the PIA, Debt Solutions leaflet (tri-fold), PIP Information Guide and PIA Scenarios.
Over 12,000 contacts to ISI Information Line
Emails
2,804
Telephone
9,727
Insolvency Service of Ireland – Statistics Quarter 1 2014
Page 13
150,000 unique visits to the ISI website with almost 1million page views
160,000
140,000
120,000
100,000
Visits
Page Views
80,000
60,000
40,000
20,000
Apr 13 May 13 Jun 13 Jul 13 Aug 13 Sep 13 Oct 13 Nov 13 Dec 13 Jan 14 Feb 14 Mar 14
Over 12,000 contacts into the ISI
1,600
1,400
1,200
Phone Calls
Emails
1,000
800
600
400
200
Apr 13 May 13 Jun 13 Jul 13 Aug 13 Sep 13 Oct 13 Nov 13 Dec 13 Jan 14 Feb 14 Mar 14
Insolvency Service of Ireland – Statistics Quarter 1 2014
Page 14