Number of people seeking insolvency increase by almost a third

There has been a 31% increase in the number of people turning to the Insolvency Service of Ireland (ISI).

959 applicants sought personal insolvency arrangements last year, according to the latest report from the ISI.

Personal insolvency arrangements are designed to return debtors to solvency while keeping them in their home.

There was also a 16% decrease compared to last year in bankruptcy cases, bring the figure to 397.

ISI Director Lorcan O'Connor said the figures are encouraging:

"In over 95% of such cases, Personal Insolvency Practitioners have delivered permanent solutions that keep the debtor in their home while also returning them to solvency.

"While there are some fluctuations within the statistics, the overall trend continues to point towards more people seeking to avail of the solutions available through the ISI that return insolvent debtors to solvency."