Draft debt resolution scheme published by government

FLAC believes the publication of a draft debt resolution scheme on Wednesday 25 January 2012 is a significant advance to address the problems of seriously over-indebted households in Ireland. The scheme will contain measures to deal with unsecured debt and secured debt and will update the bankruptcy legislation.

The document now published contains the overall scheme of the legislation, but it is not the final text. In an innovation which we welcome, the Minister for Justice & Equality has announced that the overall scheme of the legislation will be debated in the Oireachtas before the final text is settled. That discussion period runs up to 1 March. Following more detailed analysis of the complex text, FLAC will be seeking to make further comment.

The scheme is much more comprehensive than anything that currently exists and has the capacity to concretely help those who are really struggling. Paul Joyce, FLAC Senior Policy Researcher, said it will allow people who can prove they cannot repay their debts to use one or more schemes to settle them, either in a year for low-level unsecured debt or taking up to seven years for people with bigger and/or secured debts, usually referring to a mortgage debt.

Director Noeline Blackwell welcomed provisions that take account of the need for people to maintain a minimum income, and proposals which seek to ensure that not every serious debt situation will result in bankruptcy and the loss of the family home. However, FLAC remains concerned at the level of power that remains vested in creditors to approve plans proposed by debtors.

Read our press release on the scheme and see our campaign page for more information.

International Volunteer Day 2011: Thanks to all our volunteers!

international volunteer day logo

International Volunteer Day falls on 5 December, a day when organisations, service users and people inspired by volunteers celebrate the work of those who give their time and energies free of charge to say 'thanks' for their wonderful work throughout the year.

Today, therefore, we would like to thank all our volunteers on behalf of FLAC and our communities.

FLAC thanks all its volunteers for their tremendous work over the last year, helping us to promote access to justice. We thank our volunteers in FLAC centres, working with PILA, in our office, in our working groups and on our Council. Without our volunteers' generous support and commitment, FLAC centres would not have been able to assist the more than 11,000 people who have sought advice in our centres so far this year. That would be at least 11,000 people who may have had no access to justice at all.

FLAC values highly our volunteers' support for its campaign work on civil legal aid, credit & debt law, social welfare law and Public Interest Law.

"Volunteerism provides opportunities for all people to become active agents of a positive change. Volunteers promote cooperation and contribute to the well-being of individuals and the society as a whole. Active participation empowers people from grassroots up, especially when supported by strong partnership at every level."
(UNV Executive Co-ordinator, Flavia Pansieri)

Debt law reform based on "Nine Principles" must inform Oireachtas debate

Cover image for Joint Statement_9 principles to overcome debt

17 Nov 2011: As an Oireachtas debate on the Keane report comes to a close over the next few days, FLAC is urging people to bring a set of 9 key principles to underlie debt law reform to the attention of their local TDs. We are asking people to write by email to their local TDs to express their support for a solution to the personal debt crisis based on those 9 principles.

The organisations which have published these principles includes FLAC, Threshold, Focus Ireland, St Vincent de Paul and New Beginning, Ballymun Community Law Centre and Northside Community Law Centres and the Respond! Housing Association as well as independent policy researchers. This group explains that the principles must be the basis for any policy to tackle the crisis in mortgage arrears and personal debt generally.

The principles were launched on 19 October and you can read the principles statement (in PDF format).

On 18 November, the Central Bank issued its most recent figures on the number of residential mortages in arrears, showing an increase of over 55% since this time last year. You can read FLAC's reaction to the figures.

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• 45% increase in debt-related queries to FLAC centres in 2010 compared to 2009.
• 6.3% of private residential mortgage accounts are in arrears for more than 90 days (Central Bank, May 2011)
• FLAC runs specialised advice clinics for Irish speaking and deaf clients. FLAC also has specialised immigration, employment and family law centres. Click "Find your nearest Legal Advice Centre" below.
• The Government has issued its 1st report under the UN's Universal Periodic Review process in July 2011, available at http://bit.ly/l59I0P
• Complaints made to the Ombudsman in relation to social welfare and other benefits rose 30% in 2010.
• Public interest law is working with the law for the advancement and protection of human rights and for the benefit of disadvantaged people through litigation, law reform and legal education.
• Over 25,000 individuals have not been able to meet their mortgage repayments for 12 months or more (May 2011)
• A new Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears outlining how lenders address the issue of mortgage arrears came into effect on 1st January 2011. See FLAC's Factsheet on the Code on our website.
• Some 117 orders for possession of property were granted at the High Court in the first three months of 2011 – almost double the number in the first quarter of 2010.
  
  
• 35,000 people are now over 6 months in arrears on mortgages worth more than €7bn (May 2011)
• The Government-appointed Expert Group on Mortgage Arrears recommended changes to the Mortgage Interest Supplement Scheme in July 2010. However, this recommendation still has to be implemented...
• The latest mortgage arrears figures from the Central Bank show 44,500 households are in arrears of 3 months of more on their mortgages.
• Council of Europe Report (June 2011) highlights Ireland's lack of legal gender recognition legislation, available at http://bit.ly/jmqFJD
• The number of Possession Orders granted in the 4th quarter of 2010 was 119, up from 98 in the 3rd quarter.
• Nearly 60,000 mortgages have been rescheduled with 40% of these involving interest-only repayments.
• According to the Irish Prison Service Annual Report 2010, the number of people jailed for not paying fines was up 91% in 2009
• Approximately 5,800 people are now living in direct provision accommodation, with over 50% of these having been there for 3 years or more.
• FLAC is seeking funding to aid our continuing campaigns and services. Please donate using the button below.
• FLAC received nearly 10,000 calls to its telephone information line in 2010.
• The Irish Times reports that 177 orders for repossessions were approved in the first quarter of 2011 - almost double the amount at this time last year.
• Children constitute over 1/3 of residents in direct provision centres.
• 24% of calls to FLAC telephone information line in 2010 were on family law, compared to 22.1% of calls in 2009.
• Each adult in direct provision receives €19.10 weekly and €9.60 per child; this amount has not increased since 2000.
• FLAC supports over 600 volunteers giving advice all over the country.
• Under the Enforcement of Orders Act, people can no longer be sent to jail for not paying debts, if they are unable to do so.
• Ireland has only ever made 2 collective complaints to the European Committee on Social Rights and the Social Charter
• Between January and March 2011 the demand for legal aid rose 28%.