This article is from page 10 of the 2014-02-11 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 10 JPG
A CLARE woman who endured a four-year sentence in a € 300,000 ‘debt prison’ has secured a 70-day protection period from her creditors.
The woman, who lives in Shannon, has a mortgage of € 329,000 with a financial institution, the Personal Insolvency Court in Ennis heard on Friday.
The Circuit Court heard the 30year-old secretary took out the mortgage on an investment property with her then boyfriend.
The relationship has since ended and it is thought the man has left the jurisdiction.
The court heard the woman has monthly repayments of € 1,600 and a credit card debt of € 3,600.
She is now living in rented accommodation. Judge Patrick Meaghan was told the investment property cost € 345,000 in 2007 but is now worth € 170,000.
The court heard the property is in poor condition with repair costs estimated at between € 20,000 and € 25,000. Judge Meaghan said he was satisfied to grant the protection certificate, meaning the woman now has 70 days to strike a deal with creditors.
The woman was not in court for the brief hearing, but was represented by Ennis based Personal Insolvency Practitioner (PIP) John Hogan.
Mr Hogan said the court’s decision would come as a relief to his client.
He said, “For 70 days she doesn’t have to worry about court appearances or things like that and just the level of hope that an arrangement can be reached”
Speaking to reporters after the hearing, Mr Hogan said the emotional toll of struggling with debt had been “huge” on his client.
“She has put down four years of virtual trauma from her point of view. She obviously suffered the effect of the break-up of a relationship and then as a consequence of that, to be left holding the proverbial baby with regards the mortgage”.
He said the volountary surrender of the property would have been ideal for the woman but she would have been left with the balance of the mortgage – € 200,000
Mr Hogan added, “It really is a life sentence. Most traumas that people suffer heal in time, but when it comes to finance, you’re getting that letter every week, that phone call.
“There are statements coming in. It never leaves. It’s like a continuous sense of trauma.”
“She really has and people like her have suffered virtually a three year prison sentence”.
Mr Hogan said people he believes the personal insolvency process offers hope to debtors and banks.
“The real hope for people is that they are not expected just to exist. They are expected to be able to live and be socially included.
“What’s actaully happening is that people are trying to pay as much as they conceivably can to satisfy their creditors at the expense of food, light and heat..
“This process actually turns the tables a little bit”