Jim Stafford, one of the new batches of Personal Insolvency Practitioners or PIP, commenting on RTE radio about the newly drafted insolvency bill, said this: “I would be making a very strong case, for example, that a solicitor (Lawyer) should have a bigger house that accords with his professional status so that his neighbours, and clients can see that, yes, this person is a good solicitor who’s is living in a good house.” He added: “In practice, the PIP will also have to assess the type of house that might be needed for a professional person such as a solicitor, accountant, or a hospital consultant as opposed to a house that’s needed by someone who is in the PAYE sector for example.”
Asked about the ethical implications of all this by the interviewer, Mary Wilson, when she said: “Well, he may need an office, but he hardly needs a palatial house in County Dublin?" it went right over the head of the ethically challenged Stafford when he replied: “Believe me, the clients we have on our books are insisting they continue to stay in their palatial homes. Now, it’s possible that some of them might have to downgrade, but that all goes into the pot at the end of the day, and the banks, the creditors, have to agree to that process.
If anyone thinks this is just a rhetoric from an over indulged member of an inner golden circle of an old boys network, think again. Jim Stafford is no less than a member of the Chartered Accountants ’Ethics’ committee of Ireland. He also wrote the ‘complete’ syllabus course for the diploma insolvency course for Irish chartered accountants in Ireland.
So much for fair and balanced. One way or the other, all PAYE workers, self employed, or unemployed, will be paying for what these ‘professionals’ will not.
Barry Clifford
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