The trend of EU nationals establishing their centre of interest here in order to declare themselves bankrupt accelerated in 2025.
That is according to the 2025 annual report by the Insolvency Service of Ireland (ISI) which shows that of the 85 individuals to declare themselves bankrupt here in 2025, 37 involved debtors originating from other EU member states “and the vast majority from Germany, with all their debt situated outside Ireland”.
Bankruptcy here usually lasts one year and the report shows that the 85 to declare themselves bankrupt last year was a 20% increase on the 71 to declare themselves bankrupt here in 2024.
The EU nationals accounted for 43.5% of bankruptcies in 2025, compared with 25% in 2024.
The report states that this trend has led to an increased number of investigations into assets located outside of the jurisdiction of Ireland and a growing focus on cross-border insolvency issues and harmonisation efforts across EU member states.
The report states that in 2025, 79 debtors self-petitioned the High Court for bankruptcy, a 16% increase from 68 in 2024.
In addition, there were six creditor-petitioned bankruptcies, up from three in 2024.
The ISI employed 78 people in 2025 and almost half of the ISI workforce at 36 are in its bankruptcy division.
The report states that assets with a value of €5.66m were realised into 200 bankruptcy estates in 2025.
It states that €3.674m was received from moveable assets and other sources, and €1.98m was realised from the sale of land and buildings.
The High Court approved the payment of dividends totalling €1.97m to creditors.
The report states that bankruptcy is a process that delivers debt relief to bankrupts while transferring all their assets to the Official Assignee (OA).
The report states that post-adjudication, the OA will continue his policy of vigorously pursuing the recovery of undeclared assets.
It states that during 2025, 32 new investigations were undertaken. In many instances, investigations have resulted in the identification of undisclosed assets such as bank accounts, cars, properties, rental income, and transfers of assets prior to bankruptcy.
The report states that regular tasks under the heading of compliance and enforcement include inspecting bankruptcy assets, conducting in-situ asset seizures, ensuring bankrupt individuals comply with the terms of their bankruptcy, and ensuring they fully cooperate with the OA.
The report states that in 2025, proceedings for non-cooperation resulted in bankruptcy term extension orders in six cases.
It also states that of these six orders, three were interim orders, and three were final orders and the final extension order terms granted ranged from one to seven years.
“While the number of bankruptcy adjudications in recent years remains relatively low compared to pre-Covid levels, the primary driver of activity remains the large number of bankruptcy estates adjudicated over the previous decade,” the report notes.
75 people exited bankruptcy last year.
Last year, the number of approved insolvency arrangements reduced by 21% from 1,189 to 937.
The report states that ISI statistics “show that the personal insolvency framework is predominantly supporting ordinary people facing more typical, but unsustainable, financial pressures”.
Reporting by Gordon Deegan
