Irish consumer debt judgements rise

Latest figures released by the Registry Trust shows that the number of consumer debt judgements increased in Ireland during Q1 2019.

There were 595 judgments registered against consumers in Ireland during Q1 2019, 26 percent higher than the same quarter of the previous year, according to figures released today (April 29 2019) by Registry Trust. This bucks a five-year downward trend in the year-on-year figures, which culminated in last year’s record Q1 low of 471.

The total value of consumer judgments dropped 72 percent to €28.4million and the average value of consumer judgments fell 78 percent to €47,799. The median value at €11,730 had dropped 24 percent from the Q1 2018 level.

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 1768 judgments in first quarter of 2019.

Malcolm Hurlston as Registrar said “It is good to see a resurgence in consumer judgments, especially since it is allied to a fall in average amount. With good judgment records, lending is more likely to end up in the right hands. It is likely that a number of lenders have taken the decision to go to the expense of registering at the Four Courts.

Statistics

Q1 2018	Q1 2019	Change (compared with Q1 2018)
Judgments against consumers
volume	471 [record low]	595	+26%
total value	€100.3m	€28.4m	-72%
Average* value	€212,874 [record high]	€47,799	-78%
median	€15,336	€11,730	-24%