Calls for debt histories to be made freely available

DEBT histories for all companies and individuals should be made publicly available in order to prevent “a new wave of potentially toxic debt” hitting the country.

An independent legal group has made the call for transparency in order to ensure financial institutions do not lend excessively to firms with a record of debt difficulties.

Under existing rules, anyone seeking debt records for an individual or company in Ireland must pay for the service.

Public access to the information was banned by the courts service in November 2010.

In the intervening period, thousands of paid searches have been requested, with 2,290 requests recorded between July and September compared to 2,005 requests in the previous three months.

However, during the third quarter, a total of 1,246 judgments against applicants were made in the Four Courts, compared to 1,184 the previous year.

As a result, Irish Judgements — a subsidiary to The Registry Trust, which is challenging the November 2010 court service decision to block free access — has called for more transparency on the documents involved.

Chairman Malcolm Hurlston said it would significantly reduce the risk of more “toxic debt” occurring through short-termist lending processes.

“Europe is struggling to cope with a debt crisis that was at its outset caused by irresponsible lending decisions,” Mr Hurlston said.

“The lack of information from these judgments means that lenders are making decisions today based on incomplete information, meaning a new wave of potentially toxic debt could be building up.

“Our statistics show the growing public interest in debt information. This adds strength to our conviction that all judgement records should be available for public inspection,” Mr Hurlston said.

Further information on how to search for the debt history of an individual or company in Ireland or Britain can be found at irishjudgments.moonfruit.com and trustonline.org.uk.