Succession planning (sometimes known as inheritance planning) is hugely underused in Irish society. As a result, Revenue take in huge receipts on ill-prepared deaths in the form of inheritance tax. In 2018 alone, Revenue took in €466m in inheritance tax receipts. This has increased from €186m in 2010 (250% increase). In the same period, gift tax has remained relatively constant and minuscule in comparison (2018: €52m Vs 2010: €46m – although Revenue receipts did decrease in between). The difference between inheritance tax and gift tax is whether the assets are passed on death or not. This indicates to me that people plan their gifts while they are alive but not so much when they die.

CAT (which is inheritance and gift tax combined) is considered by many to be a very unfair tax. The reason for this is that an individual pays tax to accumulate assets during their lifetime either through income tax (up to 52%), CGT (33%) or CAT (33%). Then, the asset is taxed again on death when passing their estate to their loved ones. So why do you not hear more complaints about it? Mainly, because it is essentially a tax on the upper and middle class of society which no one is going to complain against. However, as house prices rise, more and more people are coming within the scope of CAT. This can be seen by the rising CAT receipts for Revenue.

It is likely that CAT will affect all of us in our lifetime either through the gifting or receiving of assets. Hopefully, this article can be a useful guide to assist you with your planning needs. In addition to CAT, CGT and stamp duty can also be an issue for succession planning.

What Should I Do Now?

• Calculate Your Net Worth

The most important and difficult step in succession planning is to calculate your net worth. It can be extremely difficult to figure out how much you are worth now and how much you will be worth in 5, 10 or 20 years’ time. This may be due to having different bank accounts, investments, mortgages, pensions, etc. However, it is a crucial step in succession planning. Besides, if you drop dead in the morning, it will be done for you by a solicitor. Imagine how difficult and expensive it will be then?

Succession planning is more than claiming a few tax reliefs, it’s about us getting to know our clients, and their personal ambitions for the future. The conversation is not driven by tax, it is driven by your desires and tax reliefs should help these desires to come to fruition.

Potential Tax Liabilities

For clients who own businesses, farms, property, etc. you should be aware that there can be three main taxes involved in succession planning, namely:

• CGT – only if selling an asset or passing as a gift i.e. there is none on death
• CAT – on the recipient of a gift/inheritance
• Stamp Duty – payable by the recipient – only if selling an asset or passing as a gift i.e. there is none on death

Capital Gains Tax (“CGT”)

CGT is payable by the person gifting the asset to the next generation or selling an asset. Irrespective of whether you gift an asset, market value is imposed on the transaction. CGT is calculated on the market value less the cost price. Therefore, if you bought shares for €100k and sold them for €300k, the capital gain is €200k. This amount is subject to CGT at 33%. If you gifted these shares to your child, you would still pay CGT as market value is imposed.

What are the most common assets we see CGT on? The main assets would be companies (shares), stock market shares, property.

TAX RELIEFS

Are there any CGT reliefs available?

The good news for you is that there are reliefs available for passing/selling companies. Other assets such as stocks and property are difficult to avoid CGT. However, there can be innovative ways to avoid CGT on these also. The most common CGT reliefs used in succession planning are:

1)Retirement Relief

This is available to family companies. This is a great relief for individuals running family companies and approaching retirement age. It is available to individuals over 55 years and exempts the sale/gift from CGT. There is an upper limit for individuals selling their company to a third party, which is €750k. There is no upper limit value for gifting a company to a child provided it is done so before you turn 66. After 66, the limit is €3m per claimant.

2)Entrepreneur Relief

This is a relatively straightforward relief to qualify for and can be worth €230k per person. It allows an individual to pay 10% CGT (as opposed to 33%) on the first €1m proceeds on the sale of a company. The minimum shareholding requirement is 5% and there is a minimum holding period of 3 years to qualify for the relief. This means that several people in one company can qualify. However, you must be a fulltime working director of the company. This can be one of the pitfalls of this relief if someone works for two companies, you cannot be fulltime in both. This is the one relief entrepreneurs watch closely for in the annual budget as it is expected to increase in the coming years. However, possibly not this year with the Minister promising a “no deal” budget. The corresponding UK version is £10m.

3)Principal Private Residence

There is an exemption from CGT on selling or gifting your private residence. Therefore, if you are approaching retirement and have a large gain on your house, you could either gift to a child or sell to a third party without paying CGT.

Capital Acquisition Tax (“CAT”)

As discussed above CAT, is a tax on the recipient of a gift/inheritance – how can you limit your exposure to CAT?

THRESHOLDS

How much can you inherit tax free?

If you are passing your estate to a child, each child can inherit €320,000 before paying any tax on the assets. A relative who is not a child of yours can inherit €32,500 before paying tax, while a 'stranger' can inherit €16,250 before paying tax. Each type of relationship is a category of relationship and can only be used once in your lifetime. Therefore, you cannot inherit €320,000 tax free from both parents and similarly you cannot inherit €32,500 from an aunt and uncle, just one relative in each category. Anything above and beyond the thresholds is subject to 33%.

Take for example, if you own a 4-bed house in Cork, which is worth roughly €400,000. In most cases, you cannot give it to a child tax free. They will have to pay at least €26,400 in CAT. This would be in addition to 33% CAT on any further gift from a parent in their lifetime.

Business Assets Relief

This can work in symphony with retirement relief and entrepreneur relief. It reduces the value of a business for CAT purposes by 90%. That means that a child can inherit a business worth €3m and still be within the CAT threshold of €320,000. The recipient would have to hold the business for 6 years.

Agricultural Relief

The government have recognised the need to not impose CAT on farmers as it may result in farms being split and sold unnecessarily. No one wants to see the great farms of this country being split and divided by each generation to avoid CAT. This relief is similar to business assets relief in that it reduces the market value of the farm by 90% for CAT purposes.

However, if this is not done correctly, it can result in a huge tax liability and becomes a lot more difficult to plan through a Will.  

Small Gift Exemption

This is a hugely under used exemption. A person can receive a €3,000 gift per annum from anyone tax free and it will not affect their lifetime thresholds. The beauty of this exemption is that it is only available while you are alive, and I am told you will get a lot more happiness seeing someone enjoy €3,000 rather than Revenue taking 33% of it when you die.

However, the downside to this relief is that people are afraid to give cash away. This is a normal rational human instinct as it is impossible to know how much money one will need to live on for the rest of their life. No one knows if they will die at 70, 80 or 90.

Calculating how much you think you will need to live on in retirement is an important step in succession planning. One can spend their whole life in the accumulation stage (i.e. working and saving) and never actually calculate how much they need in retirement. If you have too much, it will probably get taxed on death, so helping our clients understand how much they will need to enjoy the remaining years on this planet is a key priority for us in succession planning.

Have more kids

This might seem crazy but you can give every child €320,000 tax free. Therefore, larger families can pass more assets free of CAT. Seems strange but if you die with a house worth €400,000, a pension of €200,000 and €40,000 cash, there will be a large tax bill of €105,600 if you have one child. However, there will not be any tax bill if you have two children.

Planning for Death - Wills

A question that often arises is – at what stage in life is it crucial to have a Will? The answer I would give is from the date you first have an asset. If you were to pass away without a Will, statutory law decides what happens to your estate.

Take for example a couple living together who are not married and have no children. Should one person die, the estate would go to their parents and not their partner.

In most cases, we would advise clients to set up some form of Trust structure especially if they have young children. This may allow added flexibility to plan after you die.

However, the above planning is in stark contrast to what was found by a recent study of 1,000 Irish adults by mutual life, pensions and investment company Royal London. They found that 72% of those surveyed either did not have a Will or have been meaning to “sort it out”. This all adds to a lack of succession planning in Ireland.

Finally, what we recommend you do Now!

• Calculate your net worth by listing your assets.
• Calculate how much you will need to live on in retirement.
• Make a Will.
• Talk to your Quintas accountant/tax advisor, we are always here to help.

Regards

Kevin Canning

As a trainee accountant in a busy practice from the get-go you need to learn to juggle work and college, as well as trying to fit in a bit of time to relax and just do things that you enjoy or even just spend time with family and friends. Thankfully, at Quintas this is definitely made easier.  When it comes to study the partners have a positive attitude towards always attending your scheduled classes for any upcoming exams and no matter how busy the workflow is they will always rearrange schedules in order to ensure that you are able to attend all your classes.

When I joined Quintas I had already signed up to ACCA (The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) and had started the process of checking what exemptions I had got from the modules I had studied in college, and what exams I had left to do. With six exams left it felt like I was a lifetime away from becoming a qualified accountant. However, I quickly learnt that it is better not to rush through your exams. When you are doing exams and working full time, you need to be practical about how much you can do. The key is to get into a routine for studying and be as disciplined as possible once you set your routine (easier said than done I know).  Luckily with ACCA I was able to do one exam at a time and given that they have four exam sittings a year you could potentially have four exams done after just one year. So while the exams are not at all easy and you have to be prepared to put in the hard work, the rewards are there to be had, even if it is just a night out with work after exams are completed to celebrate all the hard work everyone has put in.

Another aspect of becoming a qualified accountant is the practical experience you get with most accountancy bodies requiring three years training in a firm. Here at Quintas, no matter what team you are on you quickly gain experience in all areas of accounting. Being on the tax team, typically you would assume I would be working on tax returns all the time, but this is not the case.  Everyday work varies from group audits, income tax returns, payroll, corporation tax returns and even the dreaded consolidated accounts. The experience that Quintas has to offer its trainees is second to none. The staff and managers within the firm all know exactly what you are going through having all gone through it themselves so you always feel there is someone you can talk to for support, whether it be in relation to which accountancy body to sign up to, where the best place to go for lectures is, organising tutors for group training in the office for particular subjects etc.

After what feels like a lifetime of weekends and evenings at lectures after a busy day in work and what sometimes felt like hundreds of exams the end is here. In January 2019 I got the results to my final exams and I was delighted to see the words ‘pass’. I continued in my trainee role until August 2019 when completed my three years practical experience. Once this was complete, I could finally apply to become a member of ACCA and with the application gone in I can now say that I am a qualified accountant.

My advice to anyone setting out on this journey is that you get back what you put in. If you put in the hard work both with your studies and at work from a training perspective, you will definitely get there in the end.

Regards

Jennifer Kelly

The full extent of the gender pension gap has been revealed, with retired women getting €153 less a week in pensions than men. A new report from the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) has found that men get €433 on average, with women receiving just €280. This means men are getting a third more than women in their pension pots - a gap of 35pc. Over a year, retired women receive on average almost €8,000 less than men.

Given the unique challenges women face, it comes as no surprise that their pension savings are considerably less than those for males. The more disruptive the working lives of women are, cutting hours to care for their children or elderly parents puts them at a disadvantage and means their salaries lag behind men’s by a fifth. Shorter hours mean less take-home pay, reducing the amount women are able to save in a pension. Most worryingly of all, over four in ten women between 40 and 59 years old haven’t started planning for retirement.

It is not surprising therefore that men generally save more into their pensions than women do over their working lives and this is the main reason a woman's pension often pales in comparison to a man’s. Many women go on maternity leave between the ages of 27 – 37. This is a period when a lot of men make their career moves up the ladder and unfortunately many women are out of the workforce at just the wrong time.

This makes women very vulnerable. Without adequate savings of their own, if the relationship breaks down or their partner dies before them, they could be stuck on the breadline for the rest of their lives.

So what can you do to ensure you won’t be one of those women?

A recent survey conducted by the Irish Brokers Association points towards the existence of a knowledge gap between men and women when it comes to an understanding of pensions. Some 55% of men responded that they had “no” or “some” knowledge of pensions; that figure rose to 73% for women. This definitely requires further investigation and action.

One way of narrowing this gap is to ensure more women qualify for a full contributory State pension. While there are fears about its future viability, the fact remains that in order to replace the State pension in its current form you would need a fund of about €250,000. The state pension is one of the biggest entitlements you will ever get, far in excess of anything you might earn via maternity benefit, jobseekers’ allowance or even child benefit. So don’t let your benefit be whittled away by failing to take action to ensure that you qualify for the top rate of pension. The top rate of the State pension currently pays out €248.30 a week. But not everyone is entitled to this, and depending on your level of contributions, you may find that you only qualify for a lower rate.

Unfortunately too many women rely on the pension of their husband or partner when they retire and this can be a big mistake. If you are married but don’t qualify for a pension in your own right, you may be entitled to get an increase on your spouse’s pension, known as a “qualified adult” pension. This is offered at a lower rate of up to €165.40 (under 66)/€222.50 (over 66) a week. However, the payment is means-tested and some women may struggle with the concept of continuing to be dependent on their husband in retirement. Many women feel it’s extremely unfair and suffer from a loss of dignity. One way this payment has changed in recent years is that since 2007, the “qualified adult” can apply to have the payment paid directly into their account.

For stay-at-home mothers relying on their husband’s private pension may be their only option. Make sure you understand what you can expect from your partner's pension if you're in this situation. If your spouse is buying an annuity (pension income at retirement) with his pension pot it is very important to discuss and agree what pension will remain in the event of his death.

Although anyone can open a Personal Retirement Savings Account (PRSA - a type of personal pension), it often doesn't make financial sense for a stay-at-home mother to pay into one: If you are a stay-at-home mother earning no income in your own right, you won't be able to claim income tax relief against pension contributions. Remember as well that you may be taxed when you draw down the PRSA on retirement many years into the future so you could end up with a pension fund you got no tax relief on giving you an income that you will pay tax on. That's not exactly great tax planning. I would recommend you speak to a financial advisor before you start a pension plan to ensure you are getting the best advice and even if you can only afford to put a tiny amount away each month, do this regularly and it could make all the difference to ensuring a dignified retirement.

Regards

Anne O’Doherty

As we are living longer and leading more active lives in retirement it is extremely important for all of us to plan for our retirement and ensure that we will have sufficient income to enjoy a comfortable retirement. I can recall, from pre-boom times, a previous employer’s word of advice to his employees being “Once your home mortgage is paid in full, the amount of the monthly mortgage repayment should be paid into a pension fund to help reduce the shortfall of income on retirement”. The effectiveness of this strategy has since been diminished due to two factors:

1. Many of us will probably be close to 65 years of age before our mortgages are cleared (possibly 10 to 15 years older than previous generations;
2. Individuals born on or after 1^st January 1961 will be at least 68 years of age before receiving the state pension (based on the current criteria).

The State Pension (Contributory) of €248.30 per week would require a pension fund of circa €250,000. A private pension fund of €250,000 would cost an individual anywhere from €150,000 (claiming maximum tax relief) to €250,000 without tax relief, not taking into account the administration and management expenses of a private fund.

Methods used for calculating the amount of your weekly pension payment

Qualification for the State Pension is currently based on the average contributions method (along with other criteria) from the date you first started paying PRSI to the last full contribution year before you reach retirement age.

New arrangements (Homecaring periods) for post-2012 pensioners on reduced-rate pensions were recently introduced to take account of time spent out of the workforce caring for a child or adult.  These periods may help you to qualify for a higher rate of pension.  Up to 1,040 (20 years) HomeCaring Periods may be included as part of your pension calculation.  HomeCaring Periods include time you spent out of the workforce providing full time care for:

• a child or children under 12 years,   
• a child or children over 12 years who needed an increased level of care, or
• an adult who needed an increased level of care.

The average contributions test will be replaced by the total contributions test for applicants applying after 31^st December 2020, where the maximum pension payment (currently €248.30 per week) would be paid to individuals with 2,080 contributions (40 years).

Voluntary Contributions

Voluntary contributions allow you to remain insured once you leave the compulsory PRSI system. You may choose to pay voluntary contributions, provided you meet certain conditions if you:

• are no longer covered by a PRSI scheme on a compulsory basis in Ireland,
• are no longer covered by a PRSI scheme on a compulsory or voluntary basis in any other E.U. country,
• are under age 66,
• satisfy the scheme's qualifying conditions.

Importance of planning contributions

The new pension qualification rules require future planning PRSI Contributions and Credits to get as near as possible to the 2,080 weeks target.

The following are two examples where contributions planning would be beneficial to the individual:

• • If the maximum of 1,040 for all credits are already on record, “signing on” would be of no further use, Voluntary Contributions would be the better option,
  • If additional Voluntary Contributions are being paid and eventually reach the 2,080 contributions target, they should be discontinued.

Reviewing your contributions record

It is now essential for all individuals no matter what age or no matter what stage you are at in your career to get a copy of your Social Insurance record and future-proof your pension qualification.

You can now apply online for a copy of your record contributions record from the following link:

https://www.welfare.ie/en/Pages/secure/RequestSIContributionRecord.aspx

Or alternatively register for mywelfare.ie and have direct online access to your Welfare Insurance record on an ongoing basis.

It is also important to note that Welfare records can contain errors and omissions that will not be addressed until challenged or when a claim is made, therefore regular reviews of your record give you the opportunity to request the record to be corrected from any errors or omissions.

Regards

Denis Healy

I met a prospective client recently and during our discussion around his Income Tax Return he casually and confidently told me that he estimated his tax liability at €1,000. How’s that I asked – Well I have €16k coming in from renting out rooms in my house, a friend told me I’m allowed the first €14k tax free so €2k @50% is €1k. I had to gently inform him that his advice was incorrect, there is indeed an exemption of €14k but once surpassed, he’s taxed on the full amount received and duly estimated his liability at €8k.

That’s far from the ideal initial conversation with a prospective client but it’s a fair representation of some of the issues we contend with when meeting or being introduced to people who’ve acted on advice from a “fella down the pub”.  A wise man once told me there are three professionals in life where you shouldn’t appoint the cheapest option, Heart Surgeon, Hot Air Balloonist and Accountant. I’m in business long enough to think I’ve heard it all, but I’m reminded regularly enough by the inaccurate and incorrect ramblings from The Bar Stool Accountant, that you really do learn something new every day, it just may not be right!  It’s not an urban myth, The Bar Stool Accountant does exist, and here’s some of his latest so called “advice”.

• My mother left my wife and I her house, I got it valued at €310k so it’s under the €320k threshold and I don’t have to pay tax. – Incorrect, you and your wife have each inherited €155k of value. While you are under the €320k threshold of mother\son, your wife is well in excess of the €16k threshold that applies to mother\daughter in law. Tax Bill c. €46k, ouch! (€139k @ 33%)
• I used my company to buy a Land Rover Jeep 5 seats, its commercially taxed so my BIK is charged at commercial vehicle rates, 5% of cost rather than the motor car rate, 30% of cost. – Not quite I’m afraid, with 5 seats it’s a passenger vehicle for BIK purposes, regardless of road tax, your BIK charge is 6 times greater than what you think it is.
• The deposit guarantee covers the first €100k of savings in any bank. – Not true if you have a joint account!
• While we are on banking…my loan was recently sold to a vulture fund. Word on the street has it that they bought it at a significant discount i.e. 10 cent in the €euro. I have been told to stop making repayments to the new loan owner to bring them to the table and then when I have their attention to offer them 10% of what is owed. - Not a good move. The Vulture fund (they like to be called investment funds) has purchased the original contract and loan value. Yes they are willing to listen to offers and negotiate the settlement of loans but this is done forensically and on a case by case basis.  They will accept less than value on the loan they have purchased but only when they see that it is in their interest to accept the offer.
• I bought a small Boat in the UK recently as exchange rates are great and I used the Vat number from my painting business to bring it in without Vat. – That won’t work I’m afraid, the boat isn’t related to your painting business and with the Intrastat information being shared across the EU, I reckon Revenue will be out to visit you in the next 6 months.  
• My wife and I are fortunately quite wealthy, my 4 children, all married,  have already used their gift\inheritance tax thresholds but I’m giving each of them a cash gift of €3,000 per annum to avail of the annual small gift allowance to pass as much cash as possible to my children while I can. – That makes sense of course, however you’re not optimising the situation, you can give each child €3,000 and your wife can also give each child €3,000, not only that, but you and your wife can do likewise with your sons or daughters in law. So, you and your wife can gift each family unit €12,000 per annum, 4 times greater than you are at present and that’s before we bring grandchildren into the equation. 

Here’s a genuine word from the wise - next time you take advice from The Bar Stool Accountant, get a second opinion from the professionals. Can you afford not to?

Regards

Fachtna O' Mahony                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

Are you an established business? Are you looking for new business opportunities but have no access to funding? Here is the why and how you need to expand your business.

In my previous Quintas Newsletter article I referred to the fact that now is the time for new start-ups to gain access to the market and exploit the opportunities/incentives that the Irish government are making available. The same applies for established businesses looking to expand their business model and now is the time to do it!

In this article I will be looking at the options for any SME looking to expand and will then look at the options for larger companies in our next Newsletter edition. So, if you are an SME here are the incentives you need from Enterprise Ireland:

SME Funding

To qualify for SME funding, a company must:

- Not be a HPSU client;

- Have an established trade and employ between 10 and 250 employees;

- Have an annual turnover of less than €50 million or an annual balance sheet total of less than €43 million.

It is important to note that although your company qualifies based on the above, if you have previously received funding from Enterprise Ireland this may have an impact on your eligibility for these SME supports.

Enterprise Ireland will offer the following supports depending on which type of expansion suits your business model:

Market Research Support

Be Prepared Grant - Provides aid to SME’s to prepare for the effects of Brexit by covering the costs such as researching their feasibility of moving into international markets and providing an opportunity to improve their operational competitiveness. Such funding can also be used to cover the cost of consultancy and travel expenses.

Market Discovery Fund- Incentivises companies to research suitable and attainable strategies of entering into new markets. This covers both internal and external costs for conducting such research.

Excel at Export Selling - This provides companies with a series of workshops which is aimed at rapidly incorporating good international selling practices into the sales teams across a vast range of industries.

International Selling Programme-This is a 10-month programme aimed at managers and sales staff of companies with the aim of enhancing their ability to access new markets and enhance their sales growth and selling strategies.

Supports for Product, Process or Services Development

Be Prepared Grant – Provides aid to SME’s to prepare for the effects of Brexit by covering the costs towards planning for mitigating risks and seizing opportunities. Such funding can also be used to cover the cost of consultancy and travel expenses.

Exploring Innovation Grant - This grant offers companies funding to investigate developing new or existing products or services. 

Agile Innovation Fund - This offers support to companies in accelerated industries to maintain their technology position in the market. This however only applies to projects that cost less than € 300,000. By getting involved with this funding, the application for same has fast track approval.

Business Innovation - This supports a company to improve their production/delivery methods to increase their competitive position in both home and global markets. 

Research, Development and Innovation Fund - This supports the research and development of new or the improvement of existing products, processes or services. You can only apply for this if the project cost is over €300,000.

IP Strategy Support - If a company is engaging in any form of Research and Development, it is necessary to protect the IP of such development. This type of support does just that in that it helps companies to manage and protect their IP by the use of, for example, patents, brands and copyright.

Innovation Voucher - Worth €5,000, these are available to companies to assist them to work with a registered college or knowledge provider to investigate new business opportunities.

Innovation Partnership Grant Programme - This provides financial support to companies that want to work with colleges. The administration of such a project will be managed by the college in question.

Horizon 2020 - Any companies who are looking to work on collaborative projects with EU companies can access a variety of international programmes which will allow this relationship to foster.

Innovation 4 growth Programme - This allows companies to go through innovation learning to deliver one or a number of new innovations.

Supports to Enhance and Develop your Management Team

Mentor Grant - This provides mentoring to companies to help them develop new or existing products, processes or services.

Strategic Consultancy Grant - This grant can only be used towards the cost of planning or implementing a new initiative in making developments in your company. It can’t be used towards the cost of general consultancy supports.

Key Manager Grant - This supports companies who are looking to hire a new key manager however this manager must be critical to the company’s development and have the skills necessary to contribute to the company’s senior management.

Go Global 4 Growth - This is aimed at SME top teams that are committed to developing their business for global growth. This is a world class programme that provides customised management skills by Ireland’s fastest growing University - Dublin City University. Enterprise Ireland have teamed up with the University to bring companies a unique and most innovative programme to kick start global growth using the best learning providers.

Productivity and Business Process Improvements Supports

Be Prepared Grant – Provides aid to SME’s to prepare for the effects of Brexit by covering the costs towards planning for mitigating risks and seizing opportunities. Such funding can also be used to cover the cost of consultancy and travel expenses.

Capital Investment Initiative Fund – This will provide a company with up to a maximum of €250,000 to put towardsnew equipment and technology with the aim of improving a company’s productivity and competitiveness.

Gradstart – This gives companies the opportunity to recruit 3 graduates at any one time which will have a two-year contract. Enterprise Ireland offers a website called www.gradhub.ie which can be used by a company to advertise their positions.

Lean Start Grant – This is given as a supporting cost towards a “Lean Start Assignment” which is a short assignment undertaken by a Lean consultant/trainer. This is however limited to the cost of hiring such a consultant/trainer for a maximum of 7 days.

Greenstart Grant - This is given as a supporting cost towards a GreenStart Assignment which is a short assignment undertaken by an Environmental consultant/trainer. This is however limited to the cost of hiring such a consultant/trainer for a maximum of 7 days.

Building Information Modelling (BIM) – This provides aid to a company who are looking to implement a digital roadmap which will enable growth. This 7 day programme will assist companies to set out their own digital roadmap and help them to understand how they can apply BIM.

Business Process Improvement Grant - This supports companies for a short-term period focusing on developing the capabilities of their management team and driving improvements in their processes. Projects under this grant include – LeanPlus, E-Marketing or GreenPlus.

Lean Transform Grant – This is used to support a “Lean Transform Project” which is a large and extensive programme conducted by an international team of consultants  The costs that can be claimed under this grant are the cost of an external consultant and any associated training costs required.

Operational Excellence Offer - Provides a company with support for a transformational project which brings Lean Transform, Business Innovation and the Capital Investment Initiative into a single project.  

Company Expansion Projects

Job Expansion Fund – The purpose of this is to allow a company to attract new employees by offering them up to a maximum of €150,000 to enable them to do so. Applications for same will be accepted on specific call close dates.

Tailored Company Expansion Packages – If you have an ambition to expand your business and the aim of this expansion is to create employment and strive for sales growth in international markets, Enterprise Ireland will help tailor a financial support package to your needs and expectations.

We are happy to assist any business owners that wish to investigate if they are eligible for any of the above schemes.

Regards

Nicola Mullen

The Government recently approved the extension of the Abhaile scheme over the period 2020-2022 with a view to reaching the remaining households at risk of losing their homes due to mortgage arrears. 2022 is expected to be on a ‘wind-down’ basis, focused on completing any outstanding solutions for borrowers who have been advised under Abhaile; this is subject to Government review in 2021.

Home mortgage arrears have fallen sharply and continue to fall, but the cohort in long term arrears remains significant - at just under 28,000 mortgage accounts. It is hoped that extending Abhaile will enable it to reach the rest of the owners of those homes over the remaining 3 years of the scheme.

The Abhaile scheme was set up by the Government in 2016, to help those in home mortgage arrears. It has so far provided financial advice and negotiation support to over 12,000 households at risk of losing their homes.

Charlie Flanagan TD's comments

Charlie Flanagan TD said: “This is a scheme which has helped many already and which we intend will continue and help many more over the next three years. It is a scheme which is working. To date, 82% of those advised are either on the road to getting a solution or already have one in place. Accordingly, we were delighted to get the backing of our Cabinet colleagues today for this extension”.

Regina Doherty TD's comments

Regina Doherty TD added: “Abhaile is often the first point of contact for distressed mortgage holders and it provides successful solutions - helping to put in place personal insolvency arrangements, alternative repayment plans or other arrangements, such as Mortgage to Rent, that are tailored to the borrower’s individual situation, and are realistic, sustainable and fair, both to borrowers and to creditors. Of those who have engaged with us, the vast majority have managed to stay in their homes”,

What is Abhaile?

Abhaile is the national State funded Mortgage Arrears Resolution Service. It is provided free of charge to insolvent borrowers who are at risk of losing their homes due to mortgage arrears. The Scheme is focused on providing expert financial and legal advice and assistance to identify and put into place solutions to those in arrears that will, wherever possible, enable the borrower to remain in their home.

Abhaile is jointly funded and coordinated by the Department of Justice and Equality and the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection. All Abhaile services are confidential and are provided without charge to the borrower. The total funding committed by the Government for this extension is €24.77m. The key plan for the scheme is to target those in financial trouble who have yet to engage with the scheme and to assist them to seek the relevant advice. The two Departments expect that the cost of the demand led scheme over the next three years will amount to €17.27m, while a further €7.5 million will fund the extension of the connected Dedicated Mortgage Arrears service within MABS.

Abhaile was set up in 2016 on foot of a Programme for Government commitment to assist those in financial difficulty due to the economic crash. Over the last three years,

• Abhaile has provided financial advice and negotiation support to over 12,000 households at risk of losing their homes,
• its court mentors provided information and advice to nearly 11,000 unrepresented borrowers at repossession court sittings, and
• its duty solicitors provided legal advice and help at repossession court sittings to over 6,000 unrepresented borrowers.

The latest statistics confirm that while these borrowers are often in very difficult personal and financial trouble that since the scheme was launched:

• over 30% of all borrowers who have been advised by Abhaile already have a solution in place or in train,
• a further 52% of the borrowers advised are continuing to work with their Abhaile financial adviser to get a solution into place, for example by re-establishing regular mortgage repayment records,
• accordingly, 82% in total of those advised have a solution in place, or are on the road to get a solution in place, with the help of their Abhaile advisers,
• the vast majority of those solutions are keeping the borrowers in their homes,
• relatively few have disengaged from Abhaile help (some 13% according to the latest figures – MABS tries to re-contact these borrowers periodically, to encourage them to re-engage),
• very few (about 3%) have lost their homes.

The range of solutions available to help borrowers advised under Abhaile is also growing. This follows recent personal insolvency court review judgments, and the expansion of the Government’s Mortgage to Rent scheme.

What can Abhaile do to help those in financial difficulty?

Abhaile is implemented by the Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS), which acts as a single Government portal for advice and support to borrowers, working with the Insolvency Service of Ireland (ISI), the Legal Aid Board (LAB), and the Citizens’ Information Board (CIB). Abhaile provides a range of different services.  These services are:

·         The Personal Insolvency Practitioner Service
·         The Accountant Service
·         The Court Mentor Service
·         The Consultation Solicitor Service
·         The Duty Solicitor Service
·         The Personal Insolvency Court Review Service

How can we help?

Quintas are on the panel of advisors for the Abhaile scheme and as part of this process we have assisted borrowers in trouble to resolve their debts and re-engage with their creditors. This has involved both informal arrangements with creditors and formal personal insolvency arrangements which allows those with unsustainable debts avail of the Personal Insolvency legislation to restructure and write down their debts over the course of the 5/6 year insolvency term.

We have also assisted borrowers’ avail of accelerated insolvency arrangements wherethey were ineligible for a PIA/DSA but through our advice and with financial assistance from the debtors family they were able to offer a lump sum settlement to their creditors and exit their arrangement within 6 to 12 months. Once a borrower has completed their court approved arrangement all of their unsustainable debts are written off and they are in a position to move on with their lives with a long-term restructure in place.

We continue to offer a free consultation to borrowers who are concerned about their debts or who are in fear of losing their family home.

For more information on our personal insolvency and bankruptcy services please click on the link below

Quintas Personal Insolvency and Bankruptcy Services.

Please contact me by phone on 021 464 1400 or by email on mryan@quintas.ie to arrange an appointment.

Regards

Mark Ryan