Sir, – The new insolvency guidelines (Front page & Home News, April 18th) are tantamount to “guiding” the borrower into slavery. Borrowers will be in bondage to the banks until their debt is paid off while the insolvency practitioners will be paid per case. In addition to the veto which the banks can exercise before agreement is reached with the borrower, will the CEOs and senior executives of the banks claim bonuses on the amounts paid back by borrowers ? – Yours, etc,
ANGELA HEFFRON,
Rushbrooke, Cobh, Co Cork.
Sir, – Under the new personal insolvency guidelines an adult with a car will be allowed to spend €1,030 per month. The usual coalition of bleeding-heart quangos and publicity-seeking interest groups have tried to portray this as forcing people to live in subsistence poverty.
Out of sheer curiosity, I checked my own records for the month of March and discovered that, excluding rent and loan repayments, I spent €1,169 – just €139 more than this new limit or less than €5 a day.
While I can’t claim to live a lavish lifestyle, I most certainly do not live in penury! I would be surprised if my lifestyle was anything other than very average for someone of my age and income.
If taxpayers such as myself who have not racked up huge debts are to be expected to pay to write-off the debts of those who have, is it all that unreasonable to expect them to reduce their spending by such a modest amount? – Yours, etc,
THOMAS RYAN,
Mount Tallant Avenue,
Harold’s Cross,
Dublin 6W.
Sir, – I note with interest the reference to a “reasonable standard of living”, and the “reasonable living expenses” required to maintain it, as outlined in the guidelines published by the Insolvency Service of Ireland. Citing a publication of the European Consumer Debt Network, it defines a reasonable standard of living as the ability to “be able to participate in the life of the community, as other citizens do. It should be possible for the debtor ‘to eat nutritious food . . . to have clothes for different weather and situations, to keep the home clean and tidy, to have furniture and equipment at home for rest and recreation, to be able to devote some time to leisure activities, and to read books, newspapers and watch television.”
The point is that, net of mortgage/rent and agreed debt repayments, the amount needed by a single person to achieve this “reasonable standard of living” is €900.08 (€1,029.83 with a car) per month. A cursory glance at some of the items in the breakdown will reveal some extremely conservative valuations. Try buying a year’s supply of heating oil for €687.72. And how about €343 per annum to cover not only boiler service and getting your chimney swept, but waste charges, property tax and the eventual water charges. Good luck with that. Basically, using its own criteria, this amount isn’t even enough. But despite this, the total figure does include €43.33 for savings and contingencies and €125.97 for social inclusion and participation, acknowledging these essential needs.
This is official recognition, not only of the minimum financial requirement of individuals living in this State to achieve this “reasonable standard of living”, but for individuals to “be able to participate in the life of the community”. Reconcile this with the payment made to individuals on Jobseeker’s payment. This payment falls far short of this minimum. Does this mean that the unemployed are less entitled to this “reasonable standard of living” or being “able to participate in the life of the community”? It would appear so.
Unfortunately, the guidelines then undermine the case somewhat with the apparent reiteration of the fallacy that two people can live as cheap as one. “Where two adults reside in the household then it will be presumed that the reasonable living expenses of the household are split equally between them”. Divide the figures above by two and they are not quite as they seem. Or did I miss something? – Yours, etc,
TIM O’BRIEN,
Miltown Malbay,
Co Clare.