Solicitors in Belfast may increasingly find themselves dealing with debt-related matters following the revelation that credit card debt in Northern Ireland (NI) has soared to unprecedented levels, it has emerged.

According to data from debt charity credit action, individuals in NI now owe more than one billion pounds, equivalent to 1,600 pounds per household, the Belfast Telegraph reports.

It is feared that this figure may rise as more people are thrown into financial difficulty with pay cuts, rising redundancies and falling house values.

Richard Ramsey, an economist from Ulster Bank, is quoted by the publication as stating that the level of debt in the province is not surprising in light of the current economic situation.

"During the credit boom people were probably overly-optimistic about the future as they had no reason to think the good times would come to an end so soon," he told the news provider.

"Credit cards became a vehicle for financing people's lifestyles and standard of living - and that has come to a premature and abrupt end."

According to Credit Action statistics, the average household debt in the UK, including mortgages, is 59,765 pounds.
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