The Insolvency Service of Ireland (ISI) has received more than 6,000 phone calls and e-mails.

By the end of September the ISI said it had received just over 4,700 calls to its helpline and a further 1,600 e-mails.

Its website has received nearly 85,000 visits since the agency opened in September.

However the agency said it will not be providing a breakdown just yet of the number of applications for debt relief from struggling borrowers to protect their confidentiality.

It said it had approved 50 personal insolvency practitioners to assist those dealing with the service.

The ISI was established back in March to help back to solvency.

Meanwhile recent research has found that many people seeking personal insolvency arrangements are not earning enough money to qualify.

Grant Thornton Debt Solutions studied over 1,000 cases on their books and found that almost half face bankruptcy because they do not qualify for new personal insolvency under new rules.

It found that just one-in-seven potential applicants would be eligible for a Personal Insolvency Arrangement or a Debt Settlement Arrangement.