More than €40m in debt judgments

THE value of debt judgments against consumers and businesses came to more than €40 million in the first quarter of 2010, new figures have shown.

Latest research from the Registry Trust, a non-profit organisation which collects judgment information, revealed the value of debt judgments against consumers rose 75% in just one quarter.

The figures, released yesterday, show the total value of consumer debt judgments rose from €13.8m in the last quarter of 2009, to €21.1m in the first quarter of this year.

Debt judgments against businesses in Ireland also jumped in value, seeing a 77.5% increase from the fourth quarter in 2009. The total rose from €9.1m to in excess of €16m.

This represented an increase in debt judgments against businesses of more than 20% year on year.

Registry Trust collects information both from the Four Courts – where lenders have chosen to pay for judgment registration – and from courts throughout the country.

Its report also found that the total number of unregistered judgments against businesses rose almost 50% from 1,214 in the first quarter of 2009 to 1,788 in the first quarter this year.

The popularity of the Registry Trust’s search service reached a record high, with searches more than doubling year on year. The vast majority were done using the online service at www.trustonline.org.uk, where a fee applies.

Anyone may search for entries against a named person or business at a stated address or a corporate body in any of the jurisdictions covered by the trust.

Announcing the statistics Malcolm Hurlston, the Registry Trust chairman, said the database was the only place where this information is stored.

“Our files can be searched using our quick and inexpensive online service. Other jurisdictions in the British Isles and Ireland can be searched there too.”