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Richie Boucher at the Finance Committee earlier this month Screengrab/Oireachtas

Insolvency chief blasts Bank of Ireland

The state-backed lender’s refusal to engage with personal insolvency legislation is in the crosshairs.

THE DIRECTOR OF the Insolvency Service has lashed out against Bank of Ireland’s policy of opposing debt-write down arrangements with struggling customers.

Speaking at the Oireachtas Finance Committee this morning, Lorcan O’Connor said he was “disappointed by the comments made by one creditor in pariticular to this committee.”

Earlier this month Bank of Ireland told the committee that it would veto any suggestion of a debt write-down by a Personal Insolvency Pracitioner.

Chief Executive Richie Boucher said that “the practice and policy [of the bank] is no debt write down”.

In a reference to statements made by Bank of Ireland, O’Connor said

Making a global policy statement about how they intend to deal with applications does not take full account of the new reality.

He continued: “It is disappointing to see that certain creditors are saying that under no circumstances will they entertain that kind of solution.”

O’Connor also warned that banks who spurn the option of a debt writedown through a PIP would end up losing more when borrowers went into bankruptcy.

“Giving the state the two fingers”

While O’Connor declined to name Bank of Ireland explicitly, Fianna Fail finance spokesman Michael McGrath said:

“We can name names. We all know who they are. Bank of Ireland made it very clear that they would veto any personal insolvency arrangements which involved writing off some mortgage debt.”

He continued:

The banks, in some instances, have given the two fingers to the state and to the insolvency service by saying that they simply will not sign up to one of the main options that was provided for in the legislation.

O’Connor responded that he could understand that view.

Sinn Fein Finance spokesman Pearse Doherty said: “There is a serious issue here…we have a bank saved by the Irish people (and) the CEO of that bank has decided to torpedo the legislation that this government has passed.”

LOC

Personal insolvency “out of reach”

McGrath also added that particularly vulnerable debtors who could not offer any assets or cash to their creditor could not avail of a personal insolvency arrangement or a debt settlement arrangement.

O’Connor said: “If all your income is being used for living expenses, and you don’t have anything to offer to creditors, the it’s unlikely that a DSA or PIA would work for you.”

He said that there were other solutions, including bankruptcy, available to people who could not avail of the PIA or DSA options.

Thousands of cases predicted

O’Connor said that the Personal Insolvency Service has “achieved an enormous amount” since it was set up a year ago. He said that the low amount of cases taken to date mirrors the slow uptake of the system in other jurisdictions.

He argued: “Initial uptake is slow but we are confident the number of cases will grow…the statistics point to a trend in the right direction.”

“Thousands will avail of our services by this time next year.”

Column: There are fewer bankruptcies than expected so far this year. Why?>

Family with €600k debt granted court protection under new insolvency arrangements>

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17 Comments
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    Mute Larry Whack
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    Oct 19th 2020, 5:38 PM

    Would yee ever just…

    327
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    Mute Diarmuid Hunt
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    Oct 19th 2020, 6:55 PM

    @Larry Whack: Ever just what? I suppose you’re missing licking the lead paint off your toys? Or is it spraying CFCs into the atmosphere you miss? Both of those examples are hyperbole and the implications of this study are yet unknown as is stated in the article. We can hope that the implications are minor/negligible but that doesn’t mean that the public should be kept in the dark, we’re all adults and should be able to read what is written.

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    Mute Larry Whack
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    Oct 19th 2020, 7:19 PM

    @Diarmuid Hunt: Yikes!

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    Mute Diarmuid Hunt
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    Oct 19th 2020, 7:23 PM

    @Larry Whack: Yikes what? Any chance you’d elaborate?

    14
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    Mute Barry
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    Oct 19th 2020, 5:41 PM

    We really need to move away from plastics.

    More bottles should be made of glass as this can be recycled better and cheaper.

    With plastics you can’t recycle them, instead plastic can only ever be down cycled to lower quality plastic each time.

    180
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    Mute Rachel O' Meara
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    Oct 19th 2020, 5:52 PM

    @Barry: Fair point but they used glass bottles in the past, they were notorious for chipping and breaking causing injuries. The rubber nipples were also notorious for harbouring harmful bacteria. As much as plastic bottles have flaws they are currently still the best we have.

    63
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    Mute Jacqui Russell
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    Oct 19th 2020, 6:00 PM

    @Rachel O’ Meara: I use glass bottles now – a few of the brands have started selling glass. They seem to bounce pretty well so far! I’m a little sad that it’s much harder for him to hold it himself, but he’ll get there.

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    Mute Rachel O' Meara
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    Oct 19th 2020, 6:03 PM

    @Jacqui Russell: Didnt know that, tbh it’s been a few years since I’ve dealt with all that. Are they pyrex do you know? Great news if they can make it work.

    19
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    Mute Martin Byrne
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    Oct 19th 2020, 6:40 PM

    @Rachel O’ Meara: I don’t remember the glass bottles chipping. Plastic will be seen soon as the disaster that it is. We might be comfortable with it, but it’s disgusting. We need to move away from it.

    36
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    Mute Caroline Moran
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    Oct 19th 2020, 5:54 PM

    Breastfeeding is always best, if it’s an option for the mother.

    169
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    Mute Ned Gerblansky
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    Oct 19th 2020, 5:43 PM

    If that’s the case, Katie Price’s children must be consuming it by the pound.

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    Mute CAMILA REMONA
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    Oct 19th 2020, 6:38 PM

    @Ned Gerblansky: classic

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    Mute Betty Davis
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    Oct 19th 2020, 5:43 PM

    My favourite part of the story is where the alarming news shouldn’t thought of as alarming.
    It’s almost like the formula companies need to make formula at any cost

    53
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    Mute Anú Ni Shúilleabháin
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    Oct 19th 2020, 9:09 PM

    @Betty Davis: ya it’s our main dairy export…. 15% of the dairy industry.
    Actually when I think of it, no one mentions production of formula as a contributor to environmental damage.

    16
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    Mute Dermy
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    Oct 19th 2020, 5:50 PM

    Didn’t do me no harm

    30
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    Mute EillieEs
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    Oct 19th 2020, 6:20 PM

    @Dermy: two negatives make a positive so what harm has it caused you?

    45
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    Mute Craic_a_tower
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    Oct 19th 2020, 5:50 PM

    You know they reckon that every human being has the chemicals from non stick pans in their body including isolated tribes because it has spread everywhere.

    32
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    Mute Sam Harms
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    Oct 19th 2020, 5:54 PM

    @Craic_a_tower: I didn’t know about this until I watched Dark Waters!

    20
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    Mute Diarmuid Hunt
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    Oct 19th 2020, 7:04 PM

    @Sam Harms: Sounds interesting, must give it a watch.

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    Mute Peter 'Nocky' Naughnane
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    Oct 19th 2020, 8:10 PM

    @Sam Harms: that movie is truly an eye opener. Ruffalo is brilliant in it.

    4
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    Mute Sinead Merrigan
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    Oct 19th 2020, 6:20 PM

    What goes in will come out the other end as its not digestable. A non article

    15
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    Mute Diarmuid Hunt
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    Oct 19th 2020, 7:03 PM

    @Sinead Merrigan: What is your evidence for this claim? Asbestos isn’t digestable, but it doesn’t come out the other end it either when ingested it causes peritoneal mesothelioma (cancer of the lining of the peritoneum [lining of the abdominal cavity]). I am in no way saying that microplastics cause harm on the level of asbestos, I am just showing that just because something is indigestable doesn’t mean it comes out the other end.

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    Mute Diarmuid Hunt
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    Oct 19th 2020, 7:06 PM

    @Diarmuid Hunt: *cancer of the peritoneum

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    Mute Irene Mc Hugh
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    Oct 19th 2020, 8:29 PM

    @Diarmuid Hunt: Asbestos is inhaled into the lungs ……not into the stomach .

    4
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    Mute Diarmuid Hunt
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    Oct 19th 2020, 9:03 PM

    @Irene Mc Hugh: Asbestos can both be inhaled and ingested. When inhaled it causes mesolithomas to form in the lungs. It is much more common for it to be inhaled than ingested but when ingested it causes them to form in the peritoneum. Mesolithomas from asbestos have also been recorded forming in the heart and testes.

    11
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    Mute Martin Byrne
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    Oct 20th 2020, 9:21 AM

    @Sinead Merrigan: That’s the hope, but there is concern that microplastics are staying in the body. They might be no harm at all. But let’s find out.

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    Mute Watchful Axe
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    Oct 19th 2020, 5:50 PM

    Back to the sheep’s bladders.

    6
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    Mute sully
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    Oct 19th 2020, 5:42 PM

    When i see people using boiling water in the babies bottle my heart skips a beat

    6
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    Mute Rachel O' Meara
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    Oct 19th 2020, 5:58 PM

    @sully: Why? Boiling water is sterile and fully dissolves the powdered formula, otherwise it’s gritty and clogs up the nipple, it also helps eradicate any bacteria that may be in the formula. Trick is to cool it down by either leaving it out over time or the better choice is a rapid cool down by standing the bottle in icy water.

    46
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    Mute Lisa Quinn
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    Oct 19th 2020, 5:59 PM

    @sully: why? It’s how u make formula. Babies dont drink it boiling it’s ok.

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    Mute Jacqui Russell
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    Oct 19th 2020, 6:02 PM

    @sully: that sounds serious. Might ring your GP about that.

    22
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    Mute Sam Harms
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    Oct 19th 2020, 6:45 PM

    @Lisa Quinn: heat can potentially cause chemicals to be released form plastics faster than they normally would.

    16
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    Mute Lisa Quinn
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    Oct 19th 2020, 6:55 PM

    @Sam Harms: it’s not instantly boiled u allow it to cool for no more than 3o mins

    11
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    Mute Maurice Dodd
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    Oct 19th 2020, 10:25 PM

    Babies are ingesting flouride , now that’s a worry

    4
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    Mute Diarmuid Hunt
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    Oct 20th 2020, 11:27 AM

    @Maurice Dodd: I hear they even ingest chlorine and sodium these days, absolutely toxic chemicals, luckily when combined they’re just table salt just how when fluoride interacts with other atoms they create harmless molecules.

    2
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    Mute Caroline Otoole
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    Oct 19th 2020, 11:41 PM

    In 1992 glass was reccommended, but with plastic lids and I presume a rubber teat.
    I think the bottles given out in the hospital in 2010 were glass too, but I didn’t see it close up.

    3
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    Mute Mollybán
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    Oct 20th 2020, 12:28 PM

    All my kids drank from plastic bottles…..all thriving in their 30′s and 40′s now. Unfortunately breast-feeding wasn’t promoted much in the 1970′s and 80′s when I had my children, it tended to be impractical because maternity leave was so short. You were back to work when the baby was ony 6/7 weeks old, and the routine of bottle-feeding was easier to establish.

    1
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    Mute David Faulkner
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    Oct 20th 2020, 12:55 PM

    The journal should have the same colour scheme as the sun and mirror. Scary headlines get the clicks.

    1
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