The High Court has approved a Personal Insolvency Arrangement allowing a Roscommon man to keep his family home and write off more than €1.1m in debt owed mainly to financial institutions.
Mr Justice Alexander Owens approved a PIA which will allow 52-year-old Fergal Shine, with an address at, Waterville, Bealnamulla, Athlone, Co Roscommon to return to solvency.
The court heard that Mr Shine got into financial difficulties over personal guarantees he had signed in respect of the debts of a construction he had shared with his father and brother.
The company got into difficulties in 2007, resulting in Mr Shine and his relatives taking measures including selling assets they held to reinvest in the company, and they stopped taking a wage from the firm.
Despite their efforts the company went into liquidations in 2008. Arising out of the guarantees several judgements were obtained against Mr Shine.
Arising out of his financial difficulties Mr Shine's Personal Insolvency Practitioner put together a PIA, which the Circuit Court had refused to approve.
That decision was appealed to the High Court.
Under the terms of the PIA, which is 13 months in duration, Mr Shine will retain his family home, which he shares with his wife and their three children.
He had unsecured debts of just over €1m, which is owed to parties including the Bank of Ireland, and building suppliers including the Chadwicks Group and Ganleys Hardware, are to be written off in return for small dividends.
Mr Shine will contribute a lump sum of €3,000 towards the PIA, with €2,100 being paid to the PIP to cover the cost of the PIA, while the remainder will be paid to his creditors.
In addition, under the PIA the mortgage, where €362,000 remains due and owing to Pepper Finance, on his family home, which has an estimated value of €245,000, is to be restructured.
In order to repay his debts, the court heard that Mr Shine had sold interests he held in assets including an apartment and sites of land.
The proceeds of those sales are to go to his creditors.
The judge approved a separate PIA for Marese Shine, wife of the debtor and store manager with Arcade Interiors Ltd, whose indebtedness is limited to her share of the family home mortgage balance.
