There are four different Debt Solutions available in Ireland that can help you address your financial difficulties. Each Debt Solution has a different set of criteria, so finding the right one for you will depend on several different factors such as the type of debts you have, the level of your debts, your household situation including income and expenses…
In this article we explain a little bit about the criteria involved in applying for each of the four debt solutions.
Debt Relief Notice Criteria
To qualify for a Debt Relief Notice (DRN), you must:
- Be unable to pay your debts and have no foreseeable way to do so within three years.
- Have a monthly income of no more than €60 after essential expenses.
- Owe no more than €35,000 in qualifying debts.
- Own assets worth no more than €1,500, excluding assets such as jewellery (up to €750), a car (up to €5,000), and necessary household items or business equipment (up to €6,000).
- Be living in Ireland or have recently resided or had a business there.
- Fill out and sign a financial statement and a statutory declaration, confirming their accuracy.
- Have your Approved Intermediary (AI) confirm your eligibility and the accuracy of your financial statement.
- Not have had a DRN before.
- Not be involved in a Debt Settlement Arrangement (DSA) or a Personal Insolvency Arrangement (PIA) currently or in the past 5 years.
- Not be bankrupt, under bankruptcy measures, or have been discharged from bankruptcy in the last 5 years.
Debt Settlement Arrangement Criteria
To be eligible for a Debt Settlement Arrangement (DSA), you must:
- Be insolvent (unable to pay your debts when they are due).
- Owe money to 1 or more unsecured creditors.
- Live in the Republic of Ireland have lived there within the past year, or had a place of business within the past year.
- Have completed and signed a Prescribed Financial Statement (PFS) and made a signed Statutory Declaration that it is true and accurate.
- Have obtained a statement from your Personal Insolvency Practitioner (PIP) which confirms that the PIP is of the opinion that :
- The information in the PFS is true and correct.
- You are eligible to make a proposal for a DSA.
- Having considered the PFS, it is unlikely that you will become solvent in the next 5 years.
- If you enter into a DSA there is a reasonable chance that you will become solvent within the next five years.
- Not have incurred 25% or more of your debt during the past 6 months.
- Not be the subject of a DRN now or within the past 3 years.
- Not be the subject of a PIA now or within the past 5 years.
- Not have been the subject of a DSA previously.
- Not be bankrupt or subject to a bankruptcy measure or have been discharged from bankruptcy in the past 5 years.
- Not have been the subject of a Protective Certificate or PC issued in respect of a DSA in the past year.
Personal Insolvency Arrangement Criteria
To be eligible for a Personal Insolvency Arrangement (PIA), you must:
- Be insolvent (unable to pay your debts as they fall due).
- Have an outstanding debt to at least one secured creditor who holds security over Irish property or assets.
- Have secured debts of less than €3,000,000 (unless creditors consent to increasing this limit).
- Live in Ireland or have lived there within the past year, or had a place of business.
- Have completed and signed a Prescribed Financial Statement (PFS) and made a signed Statutory Declaration that it is true and accurate.
- Have obtained from your Personal Insolvency Practitioner (PIP) a statement which confirms that the PIP is of the opinion that:
- The information in the PFS is true and correct.
- You are eligible to propose a PIA.
- Having considered the PFS, it’s unlikely that you will become solvent in the next 5 years.
- If you enter into a PIA, there’s a reasonable chance that you’ll become solvent within the next 5 years.
- Not have incurred 25% or more of your debt during the past 6 months.
- Not be the subject of a DRN now or within the past 3 years.
- Not be the subject of a DSA now or within the past 5 years.
- Not have been the subject of a PIA previously.
- Not be bankrupt or subject to a bankruptcy measure or have been discharged from bankruptcy in the past five years.
- Not have been the subject of a Protective Certificate or PC issued in respect of a PIA in the past year.
Bankruptcy Criteria
To be eligible for Bankruptcy, you must:
- Have explored the above Personal Insolvency Solutions first. If none of them are suitable, then you can choose to declare Bankruptcy.
- Show the court that you’ve made attempts to pursue the other Insolvency solutions (A PIP can provide a certificate for this).
- Be classed as Insolvent (unable to pay your debts).
- Have debts above the value of €20,000.
- Be able to pay any associated bankruptcy fees.