Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 12 July 2018
236. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if the income a debtor has from providing foster care to children is taken into account in the assessment of means under the various insolvency arrangements; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31791/18]
View answerThe Personal Insolvency Act 2012 provides for three mechanisms for non-judicial debt settlement: the debt relief notice (DRN), the debt settlement arrangement (DSA) and the Personal Insolvency Arrangement (PIA). These arrangements are administered by the Insolvency Service of Ireland (ISI). The ISI is independent in the performance of its functions under the Act and I, as Minister for Justice and Equality, have no role in decisions in this regard.
Under the provisions of the Personal Insolvency Act 2012, all income received by an applicant for insolvency arrangements must be taken into account and recorded on the applicant’s Prescribed Financial Statement. Therefore, foster care allowance must be included when calculating the income of an applicant. However, I can advise the Deputy that the ISI's Reasonable Standard of Living and Reasonable Living Expenses Guidelines make provision for special circumstances. Accordingly, an applicant with foster care responsibilities may, depending on the circumstances, have the reasonable extra costs associated with foster care included as part of their reasonable living expenses calculation (under special circumstances). The Personal Insolvency Practitioner or Approved Intermediary through whom the application is made must be of the opinion that the Reasonable Living Expenses figures (including special circumstances) set out on the debtor’s application are the expenses that the debtor incurs in achieving a reasonable standard of living.
