Business debt judgements drop 37% in Ireland

Latest figures from the Registry Trust have indicated that there has been a decrease in the volume of business judgments in Ireland.

In Quarter 1 of 2018 there 120 business judgment issued, 36 fewer than in the same quarter of the previous year. This is coupled with a 37 percent drop in the average judgment’s value led to a 52 percent fall in the total value of business judgments.

The figures are based only on judgments registered at the request and cost of creditors at the Four Courts in Dublin and therefore provide only a partial picture of unmanaged debt judgments in the country. By comparison, in the much smaller economy of Northern Ireland, where judgments from all courts are registered, there were 2,266 judgments in Q1 2018.

Malcolm Hurlston as Registrar commented: “The significance of these judgments is that creditors have gone to the trouble and expense of registering them at the Four Courts for further visibility and action. However, there is much to be learned from other judgments in smaller courts which are public but not registered. Irish businesses and consumers can benefit from the wider information available in Northern Ireland and in Great Britain.”

Statistics

• Judgments against businesses Q1 2018
  • Total: 120 (down 36)
  • Total value: €2.7m (down 52 percent)
  • Average value: €22,900 (down 37 percent)
  • Median: €10,054 (up 71 percent)