Are financial troubles a big problem in Northern Ireland?
They are a significant problem – in fact, around 148,000 people in Northern Ireland are potentially struggling with their finances at any one time, according to the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister who in February 2006 published the first report of its kind looking specifically at the financial situation in Northern Ireland. These figures are commensurate with the rest of the UK, but there is an inequity in wages locally. There are also increased areas of expenditure in Northern Ireland that can’t be cut back on – specifically clothing, food and heating costs. What are the most common financial problems? The most common financial product we find clients in financial difficulty are struggling with is the credit card. The Department for Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETI) Money Advice project for 2005/06 dealt with almost 12m of new debt in Northern Ireland and a third of this was on credit cards. However, the most common cause for a financial problem is an unfo
