€3k fees just to apply to debt service

As people finally begin applying to the Insolvency Service of Ireland for support in dealing with their mountain of debt, fears have been expressed that the applicants will face fees of up to €3,000 to simply have their application processed.

Only 37 people have thus far been trained as personal insolvency practitioners (PIPs) — the people charged with assessing the insolvency applications, taking them through the process, including liaising with the applicant’s creditors.

Brian Walker, a barrister who has trained PIPs, said hundreds had gone through the qualification process but many may choose not to start processing applications because of the high cost of entry into it and the expectation they may not get paid for the work.