As the recession continues to bite hard in Northern Ireland Stephen
Nolan presents On The Brink a special series of programmes on BBC
One Northern Ireland which go behind the scenes in the offices of the
Citizens Advice Bureau - the epicentre of efforts to help struggling
debtors.
This insightful and emotional series looks into everything from personal
debt to property repossessions and redundancies, to discover how the
new hardship of the 21st century is afflicting people of all backgrounds
in Northern Ireland.
On The Brink will be broadcast on BBC One NI over four consecutive nights from tonight (Monday, August 31) until Thursday, September 3 when On The Brink Live will give the viewers the chance to have their say.
Personal debt
The first programme looks at personal debt. Back when house prices were rocketing and there were plenty of jobs, getting into debt with personal loans, credit cards or store cards was starting to seem like the norm for many people. Now the Citizens Advice Bureau is experiencing a huge increase in the number of people coming to them for help with their personal debt issues. In this programme, Stephen talks to Majella Smythe who is feeling under pressure from credit card companies and we meet Rathfriland man David Parkinson to discover the real impact of going bankrupt.
Small businesses
The second programme looks at small businesses. In the last major recession to hit Northern Ireland, huge employers such as Harland and Wolff or traditional textile producers such as Coates Viyella or Desmonds were still in existence. Now they’ve disappeared and small business is the bedrock of Northern Ireland’s private sector. Here, Stephen meets Tom Jennings, a baker from Newry, who lost his business in 2006 after investing over £100,000 into it - will he pay the taxman or his creditors? And as another major employer in the South Down area announces more lay-offs, we’ll see how some of those facing redundancy come to terms with losing their job.
Property and the banks
In the third programme On The Brink examines the impact of the recession and credit crunch on homeowners and property investors. Stephen meets a young Belfast couple who borrowed heavily against their home and now face it being repossessed by the bank and hear from a young Dungiven construction worker who bought his home at the height of the boom and signed up for a five year mortgage deal he’s now struggling to pay and says his bank is refusing to help. And we meet two investors who’ve borrowed money from the bank to pay a deposit on an apartment in the Titanic Quarter but who now say that because of the credit crunch they can’t raise a mortgage for the £190,000 they still owe.
Live debate
The series ends Thursday September 3 at 10.45pm with financial leaders, businessmen and government officials being questioned in the studio by members of the public.
Stephen Nolan says: "I think there are a lot of people in Northern Ireland hurting and really feeling a financial pain. I agreed to do this series because its time to take stock of where we are and establish the help that is out there for families who are struggling.
“I'm challenging our local government to tell us through this series what their recession strategy is and I want to ask the big banks if they really do care about their customers here. I've met lovely people who are in desperate situations and we need to take stock and make sure we learn from a crisis like this."
On The Brink BBC One NI Monday August 31 – Thursday September 3 after the BBC News at Ten.