Bleak year ahead as debt and redundancies soar
Thursday, 4 December 2008
by Julie Moore.
Redundancy figures in the Omagh area have doubled in the last year, deputy manager of Omagh Independent Advice Services, (OIAS), Michael Roddy, revealed this week.
Painting a 'bleak' picture of what lies ahead in 2009, Mr Roddy says staff at the free independent advice centre in Omagh Community House, are gearing up for a 'busy few months' after Christmas, as realisation of the extent of people's financial worries start to kick in.
“Last year was our busiest year up until March 2008," he said, "Looking at figures for now, we believe we will eclipse that this year because of the current financial crisis and the knock-on effects that is having on unemployment.
“Comparing figures for April 1 to the end of October last year, redundancy has risen by 50 per cent in the same period this year."
Money adviser, Michele Loughran, adds that the amount of debt so far this year in Omagh, including consumer and housing debt, totals over £2.1 million - noting that this is a vast increase from figures of the previous year, and only accounts for the debt that OIAS has been made aware of in the area.
These stark figures have coincided with what Mr Roddy describes as a 'deluge' of phone calls into their office.
Said Mr Roddy: "We have at least 10 inquiries per day about redundancy. People are ringing to see where they stand. What we do is check whether the correct procedures have been carried out in a redundancy case. Have they they been given the correct statutory redundancy payments? Have they been properly consulted and selected for redundancy, and was lieu of notice provided properly? We are finding people are being told on a Friday 'don't come back on Monday' - after maybe six years of service.
“We then assist them to make claims for the appropriate benefits, and look at the implications of the job loss for the individual."
Struggling
Ms Loughran says the increasing hardship locally has also left many struggling with mortgage arrears, with figures more than tripling on that of last year: "From January to November 29 last year, mortgage arrears figures stood at £80,677, for the same period this year it is £268,708.
“We are seeing more people coming in with mortgage arrears, people are having difficulties in sustaining their mortgages.
“And now with Christmas and the added pressure to provide for children - people are turning to lending agencies, or door step lenders. At the time when you have so much to pay for, it is tempting. We are all human at the end of the day, and the temptation is there. But it is very difficult to deal with it afterwards. People need to take stock of the here and now.
"We appealed to people last Christmas to avail of the local shops offering services where they could pay in on gifts, without any interest charges on them."
Both Ms Loughran and Mr Roddy stress the importance of seeking help early when it comes to debt or redundancy.
Through their experience in OIAS they very much aware that coming to terms with the extent of debt a person is facing can be a hard pill to swallow.
Said Mr Roddy: "It is quite a hard thing to cope with, and for some people it can be quite a shock to the system. I don't think even the economists can predict what will happen, but certainly 2009 is going to be a very difficult year for people. But beyond that it is just impossible to tell.
“For people who have been working for a long time, they probably have never heard of an advice centre. They probably don't even know it exists, because they have never had the need to look for it before. Worrying about your pride, I think, is something that might have happened in the past but now, it's not as if you are alone, a lot of people are going through the same thing, and you don't really have time to have a pride issue, you need to deal with things now."
Highlighting the need to be sensitive to individuals' circumstances, Mr Roddy says he knows how difficult it is for someone to walk through their door, and admit their problems: "We wouldn't be in the business of criticising people, we understand that people have different circumstances to deal with.
Soul-destroying
“It can be a soul-destroying experience to look for help, but we find that people always leave here a hell of a lot happier than they were when they came in.
“As a first point of contact, I feel we can soften the blow. We can't raise anyone's expectations, we will be up front and honest, and give them an accurate picture, not dress it up, we have to be very realistic."
Ms Loughran reveals that this year alone, 189 new clients have come forward to OIAS, and together these clients have brought 378 enquiries to the Omagh service.
She said: "No one is safe from this downturn. You are a very lucky person if you manage to go through life with no financial difficulties. I have had grown men coming in here crying over what they are going through.
“This problem is so rife, people cannot ignore it, they need to confront it and talk about it. There is a very strong link between debt and mental health problems. When you have the threat of losing your home over your head, it can be a lot to deal with, and it can affect people's relationships."
Encouraging people to come forward to OIAS as soon as possible, Michele urges people to be aware that 'there are answers'.
“Knowledge is power in itself, when someone is educated on how things work, and when they know that there are no bailiffs in Northern Ireland, they find some comfort in that, it helps in a lot of circumstances.'"
For information on how OIAS can help, contact the office on 028 8224 3252, or email info@oias.co.uk.
