Kitty1
I cannot believe that any PIP would be naïve enough to advise you to surrender a property without agreeing a deal with the bank in advance. The reality is that some banks, subject to strict conditions, are prepared to accept voluntary surrenders and use their residual debt to "cram" down other creditors so that the debtor becomes solvent.
Having said the above, given that the Personal Insolvency (Amendment) Bill 2014 passed all stages in the Oireachtas on 20th July, and will shortly be signed into law by the by the President, your PIP should be examining whether you can now afford to pay a mortgage for just the market value of the property (i.e. €150,000) and use your unsecured creditors of €30,000 to "cram" down the bank's mortgage to €150,000. (I am assuming that the property is your family home?)
If you surrender your house now, you may never get on the property ladder again.
Once the Personal Insolvency (Amendment) Bill 2014 is signed into law, the bank's veto will be removed (subject to the conditions of the Amended Act.)
Jim Stafford