Mr. Lorcan O'Connor:

It is not an automatic fact that people will not be able to avail of arrangements. If one's income is less than reasonable living expenses, one may be able to offer something in one's proposal. For example, there may be a second car or an asset that can be disposed of to offer into the pool of money for creditors. In the absence of such options and if all of one's income is being used to meet reasonable living expenses, there is nothing to offer to creditors. In that situation, it is unlikely that a debt settlement arrangement, DSA, or PIA would work. However, this does not mean that there is no solution open to such a person. For example, a DRN, is available for those with debts of less than €20,000 or bankruptcy is an option if their debts are greater than €20,000.

The conversation could move on to question whether someone's living expenses were set at the appropriate level. We did a great deal of work in preparing our guidelines. When they were published last spring, they were based upon more than a decade of work by the Vincentian Partnership for Social Justice. The figures were not picked out of the blue. Rather, they were based on extensive building blocks that led to an overall number. As such, I am reluctant to make a quick change to the guidelines beyond reviewing them each year to meet inflation. It is only reasonable that people have sufficient income to retain reasonable standards of living even while insolvent.