Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 16 January 2014
232. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality his plans to update the insolvency laws in view of recent problems with its implementation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2028/14]
View answerContrary to some recent media reports, I can confirm that there is no intention to amend the law on personal insolvency, though of course I am keeping the operation of the legislation under close ongoing review.
The enactment of the Personal Insolvency Act 2012, and the establishment of the Insolvency Service of Ireland in March 2013, already constitute a far-reaching, substantial and comprehensive reform of our insolvency and bankruptcy law.
Operational issues which may arise will be addressed by the Insolvency Service of Ireland (ISI). The ISI has rapidly established the necessary infrastructure of trained and accredited insolvency practitioners and intermediaries, and began accepting applications for personal insolvency solutions last September. A number of these cases have already been referred to the courts for protection orders or final approval, and the ISI expects the volume of such cases to increase significantly in the coming weeks and months. So while huge progress has been made, we are still in the early stages of implementation, and the legislation should be allowed time to bed down.
There have been media references to a proposed insolvency protocol. However, this is a purely operational matter, which does not require any amendment to the existing legislation. Such a protocol is simply a working template for insolvency or debt agreements, agreed with stakeholder consultation, to facilitate and streamline insolvency applications. Developing such a protocol is a long-standing initiative of the ISI, based on best practice in other jurisdictions.
