Growing number of Irish lawyers hit by mortgage woes

The percentage of professionals among the clients of debt charity, Phoenix Project Ireland, has risen from 25 per cent to 40 per cent as banks pile on the pressure.

John McGrath chairman of Phoenix Project Ireland, which assists people facing the loss of their family home, told the Sunday Independent: “We are seeing people with five or six properties. Politicians, solicitors, barristers, consultants, doctors and senior members of university staffs, are among those struggling with repayments.”

He added: “About 25pc of our client base used to be made up of professionals — the rest were blue collar workers broadly working for the average industrial wage. But now 40pc of our clientele are from the ABC1 professional classes. That increase has occurred in the past 12 months, and we’re expecting it to go up further in the new year.”

Barrister Ross Maguire SC, who established New Beginning, to provide representation for homeowners facing repossession, revealed that he had witnessed an increase in the number of doctors seeking help in recent weeks.

He added: “The self-employed — particularly those who were in the construction industry — are among the hardest hit. Every single one of our clients is in full-time employment, and are on good salaries, but their problem is residual debt.”

But he also said that people were increasingly facing up to their problems because they could see light at the end of the tunnel.

He explained: “They see a future for themselves and that is acting as an impetus for them to try and deal with their debt. Previously people felt they were screwed — so they had a head-in-the-sand approach. But now workers, such as builders, quantity surveyors, and architects, are back in employment and they see the prospect of having their debt situation resolved.”

Eleven per cent of principal residences in Ireland, some 82,000 homes, are in arrears with 35,000 of them in arrears for 720 days or more.