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Personal Insolvency Practitioner

Free Insolvency Consultation

If you're having difficulty with mortgage repayments, a mortgage restructure, arrears, or other debts, then we may be able to help. We have 4 Personal Insolvency Practitioners (PIPs) in-house who are regulated and authorised by the Insolvency Service of Ireland, to provide solutions to eligible people in financial difficulty. Fill in the form below and one of our advisors will contact you to review your situation and advise on all options available. An Insolvency solution could help you address your situation in a way that is more affordable.


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What is a Personal Insolvency Practitioner?

A Personal Insolvency Practitioner (or PIP for short) is the professional who is qualified and authorised by the Insolvency Service of Ireland (ISI) to act on your behalf during all matters relating to Insolvency. Insolvency is the term given to someone that is unable to service their debts as they fall due. An Insolvency solution is like a "formal debt solution" that allows you to address your debts in a way that is affordable and sustainable, whilst allowing for a reasonable standard of living. In Ireland there are debt solutions designed to help you address:

  • Secured debts: Debts that are backed by an asset such as a property or vehicle, and/or,
  • Unsecured debts: Debts such as shortfall debt, credit cards, overdrafts, utility bill arrears etc...

We have 4 PIPs in house - You can find their information on The Insolvency Service 'Back on Track' Website, by clicking here and searching for McCambridge Duffy. You will also find other Insolvency Practitioners available on this website, but bear in mind, that some PIPs will charge for consultation, whereas we do not.

It is not possible to enter into any sort of formal debt solution without the using the services of a PIP.

What does a PIP do?

A PIP will:

  • Review your situation to work out if you are in need of an Insolvency solution.
  • Provide advice and information on all possible options for dealing with your debts.
  • Signpost you to an appropriate provider or charity, such as MABS (Money Advice and Budgeting Service) for further help, if you are not insolvent.
  • Facilitate the application of an Insolvency Solution on your behalf, should you wish to proceed with any solution with them - This should be entirely your decision. Your PIP draft your proposal, make the necessary applications and send your proposal to your creditors for voting.
  • Manage your Insolvency solution for it's duration, should it be approved.
  • Perform regular reviews (at least annually) to make sure your solution stays sustainable and affordable for both you and your creditors.
  • Negotiate with your creditors where possible, should you situation change during the term of the solution. Their goal will be to help see you through to successful completion of your solution.

We've explained the steps your PIP will take during Insolency below in a little bit more detail.

Initial PIP consultation

The first step is to arrange a meeting with an advisor or a PIP to find out if you are in fact Insolvent and if a solution is an option. You will be asked questions about your household income, your expenses, and details of your debts, any arrears, assets etc will also be discussed. Your PIP will work out if any of the Insolvency Solutions would be suitable based on the information provided. You may also be asked to provide certain required docuemntation during this time. Your PIP will also work out your affordability, using guidelines to ensure that you would have a reasonable standard of living during any Insolvency proceedings. Your PIP will provide advice and information on the possible solutions available and answer any questions you might have.

Your PIP should then allow you the time and space to consider any options that have been discussed. It should be entirely your decision on if you would like to proceed with any solution. It is also up to you to decide if you would like to appoint the PIP to facilitate your solution.

Prescribed Financial Statement

If you decide to proceed with an Insolvency Solution then the PIP will be begin drafting your Prescribed Financial Statement (PFS). The PFS summarises your assets, liabilities, income and expenditure. The PIP will advise as to what debts will be included and not included in your insolvency solution. You must make a declaration that everything is true and accurate in the PFS. The PFS allows the PIP to confirm which, if any of the solutions are suitable for you. They will explain all options to you in more detail and make a note in writing of what they think is the recommended course of action for you to take and that in their opinion everything in the PFS is true and accurate.

Protective Certificate

If both you and your PIP are happy with the PFS, then the PIP will submit your application to the ISI and the court. If the ISI and the court are happy with your application then they will grant your Protective Certificate. A Protective Certificate stops your creditors from taking any legal proceedings against you. It usually lasts for about 70 days but can be extended in some circumstances. When a Protective certificate has been issued, another cannot be issued for at least 12 months.

Proposal and Creditor negotiation

After the Certificate has been issued, your PIP will engage with your creditors during the preparation of your proposal. A meeting of creditors will be held, where they will be invited to vote on whether to accept or reject your proposal for your chosen solution. Every proposal is unique, but they usually contain an element of debt write-off as well as your offer of repayment of the balance of your debt. Atleast 65% must vote in favour of your proposal (50% of both secured and unsecured if applicable) in order for it to be approved.

The ISI and court carry out a final review. Once approved your Insolvency Arrangement will become legally binding for you and the creditors involved. You can start your new agreed affordable repayments as laid out in the terms of your plan.

If your proposal is rejected, you may be eligible for court review, where the rejection could be overturned. Your PIP can facilitate this process if you are eligible.

Supervision and completion

The final role of the PIP is to supervise your solution for the agreed term, ensuring you keep up with agreed payments and distributing them to creditors as agreed. They will also retain funds from your affordable payments, as agreed, to cover PIP fees and expenses for managing the arrangement. Your PIP’s post approval duties are extensive with a high level of oversight and administration. The operation of the arrangement is reviewed regularly and reports are issued to creditors at least annually.

If the arrangement needs to be significantly varied due to changes in your financial circumstances, then the PIP will convene further meetings with your creditors with a view to negotiating a variation proposal. They will report the outcome to you, your creditors, the ISI and the court.

On successful completion of your arrangement, your PIP reports to the ISI, your creditors and to you to explain that all the terms of your arrangement have been complied with. and all dividends to creditors have been distributed. You can begin to work on repairing your credit file and resume normal financial activities. You will be discharched from your unsecured debts and can start over again with a clean slate. If you have secured debt involved in your solution, you will be released from it or continue paying it under the terms agreed in your solution.

Speak to us to see if you can reduce your debts

Call 01 539 57 90

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McCambridge Duffy Limited is a Limited Company registered in Ireland
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Registered office Suite 6, Spencer House, High Road, Letterkenny, Co. Donegal, F92 V8XC