THERE has been a 500% increase in the number of people in Ireland who declared bankruptcy in 2014.
More than one person was declared bankrupt every day, on average, in Ireland last year, according to the Courts Service Annual Report for 2014. The report shows that 448 people were made bankrupt last year, an increase of more than 500% on 2013 when 67 people were declared bankrupt.
Conversely, the number of orders committing people to prison for non-payment of debt fell dramatically. The number of orders committing people to prison for non-payment of debt fell to just 72 orders granted in 2014 compared to the 2,335 applications made in 2013.
This means that Irish workers with outstanding debts are avoiding being sent to jail by filing for bankruptcy. Orders made to repossess homes at the High Court increased from 108 to 190. Much of the business of repossession has relocated to the Circuit Court following a change in legislation and there was an increase of almost 200% in the number of orders of possession made there, from 363 in 2013 to 1,063 last year.
Chief Justice Susan Denham said the 2014 report showed that ‘we have gone from boom to bust in years past but that recovery and a more realistic approach to personal debt is being reflected in cases coming to court’.
She said the enormous increase in those in debt seeking bankruptcy themselves is a dramatic turn of events, ‘one which indicates that people now see bankruptcy as providing some protection, which may not have been the case in previous generations’.
If you’re made bankrupt in Ireland, firstly, all of your assets, with the exception of necessities up to a value of 6,000 euros (£4,250), are transferred to the Official Assignee, who will sell them. You then have to follow ‘bankruptcy restrictions’ or face a fine and/or jail.
This means you can’t borrow more than 650 euros (£460) without telling the lender you’re bankrupt. Meanwhile, Irish politicians have been given a special million euro allowance. More than one million euros in special allowances, including 600,000 euros for ‘public relations’, has been paid out to government ministers and other TDs (MP’s) through the little-known ‘special secretarial allowance’ since the general election in 2011.
The money is claimed primarily by government Ministers who are allowed to put it to a variety of ‘uses’ including ‘secretarial work’, ‘training’, ‘information technology’, and ‘public relations’. An analysis of the figures show that the majority of the money, 610,763 euros in total, went on ‘public relations’ services, despite the fact that the Ministers involved have the use of Departmental press offices.
Another 342,977 euros was spent on ‘secretarial services’, with ‘IT services’ costing 9,000 euros and 22,097 euros spent on ‘training’. A smaller amount of around 32,000 euros was spent in ‘other categories’.
• Irish ambulance workers are currently using command and control rooms to direct them to an accident. However, ambulance workers are now being told that they have to use an untried, untested satellite navigation (Sat Navs) system to get to patients, creating a ‘life or death postcode lottery’.
SIPTU, the union that represents Irish ambulance workers, has expressed serious concern over the introduction of the ‘Eircode system’, stating that it could lead to ‘tragic consequences’. If a patient is bleeding to death and an ambulance is sent to the wrong address by a computerised navigation system, and the patient consequently dies, this would be an example of the ‘tragic consequences’ that the union is concerned about.
SIPTU has urged the management of the National Ambulance Service and the Health Service Executive (HSE) not to introduce the use of the Eircode system for ambulance professionals until the new postcodes have proven to be ‘fit for purpose’.
SIPTU Health Division Organiser Paul Bell said: ‘We have been contacted by many of our members who have expressed major concerns at the roll out of Eircode. Our members have stated that they will use any system as long at they can be assured that the system is fit for purpose and has the confidence of the general public. Despite claims that ambulance professionals should use satellite navigation systems to get to the scene of an emergency, that approach has been deemed to be unreliable in the UK. In some cases its use has resulted in tragic circumstances that could have been avoided.’
He added: ‘Currently, there are two command and control rooms which direct ambulance personnel to the scene of an accident anywhere in the country. That is the most effective way of dealing with an accident or emergency. Addresses are based on a directory supplied by An Post, which has the most up-to-date database. I would expect that to continue until our members’ concerns are dealt with. Our members can only work with a system that they, and the general public have confidence in.’
Meanwhile last Saturday, SIPTU members employed by Ferns Diocesan Youth Service (FDYS) held a rally to protest at their treatment by the management of the voluntary organisation. The protest took place in the Bullring Wexford Town on July 11th, between 2.00pm and 4.00pm. Workers, their supporters and local elected representatives attended the rally.
SIPTU Organiser, Gerry Flanagan, said: ‘Our members have been left with no option but to engage in industrial action and protests due to the conduct of management during this dispute. Despite FDYS being a publicly funded organisation the management has forced through a change to the conditions of employment of its staff while refusing to negotiate with their union or attend the Labour Relations Commission.’
He added: ‘The staff of FDYS provide vital services to the local community including childcare and the running of youth groups. They are widely respected for their contribution to the community and it is only due to the extreme intransigence of management that they have been forced into taking this action.’
The FDYS workers conducted a one day strike in June. Further strike action action is scheduled for Wednesday, 15th July, and a picket will be placed on the FDYS Head Office, Francis Street, Wexford Town.
• A major new study commissioned by the Irish teachers unions, involving almost 1,200 academics, has called for ‘significantly increased and sustained levels of investment’ and increased staffing levels to meet continued growth in student numbers. Almost three-quarters of respondents feel their working conditions are deteriorating.
The Report ‘Creating a Supportive Working Environment for Academics in Higher Education’ was commissioned by the Irish Federation of University Teachers (IFUT) and the Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI). The Report points out that funding to the third-level education decreased by a massive 29% from 2007 to 2014.
Institutes of Technology lost 29%, universities 26% and other colleges 24%. Staff numbers declined by 4,500 from 2008 to 2013. At the same time student numbers at third-level surged by over 31,000 (16%) from 2008 to 2014.
Among other key findings are:
• 72% of academics believe that their working conditions have deteriorated
• 55% of respondents believe that management does not support the teaching aspects of their role
• Two thirds of respondents (67%) believe the availability of research funding is inadequate.
