Michael McGrath
Ceist:904. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of appeals (details supplied) submitted to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33801/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 24 July 2018
Ceisteanna (904)
Freagraí scríofa
It appears, from the details supplied, that the Deputy is referring to applications made by an insolvent homeowner to a court, under s.115A of the Personal Insolvency Acts, asking the court to review a decision made by his or her creditor(s) to reject a proposed Personal Insolvency Arrangement which includes resolution of mortgage arrears on the insolvent person’s home (principal private residence).
The following are the numbers of such applications made to the courts, in each year from the commencement of s.115A in late 2015, to 23 July 2018:
|
Year |
No. of applications |
|
2015 |
10 |
|
2016 |
227 |
|
2017 |
487 |
|
2018 to date |
322 |
|
Total |
1,046 |
I am pleased to inform the Deputy that the conduct of these critical s.115A review processes through the courts is working, in line with what was intended when this important legislative change was made in 2015. Government policy in this area is about keeping people in their homes where at all possible.
It is evident from the jurisprudence developing on the application of s115A, that a number of people are now in Personal Insolvency Arrangements who would previously have been subject to final rejection by the creditors. The courts have at this point issued a number of important judgments under s.115A, which provide added clarity for lenders and for borrowers on the types of mortgage restructure which may be imposed by the court, on the basis that they are overall fair, equitable and sustainable for the purposes of section 115A.