Brendan Griffin (Kerry South, Fine Gael)

I am grateful for the opportunity to speak on the Personal Insolvency Bill, which I welcome warmly. It is a substantial and highly complex Bill and I acknowledge the huge amount of work put into it by the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Shatter, and his departmental officials. It probably is one of the most important Bills to be introduced by the present Administration. It has been good to hear so many constructive positions taken on this legislation by Members on all sides of the House in recent weeks. Reform of insolvency law is long overdue in Ireland and some existing laws have been in place since well before the foundation of the State. As a great deal has changed since then, this development certainly is welcome. This Bill will, in law, provide a vital lifeline to many people and families nationwide. I refer to those who effectively are drowning in a sea of debt at present and this legislation offers them a vital lifeline. I welcome many of the measures contained in the Bill, particularly the new non-judicial debt resolution processes it will deliver. In addition, in common with other Members, I welcome the conditional automatic discharge from bankruptcy after three years, rather than the 12-year period that obtains at present. As other speakers have noted, this will give people a second chance and is a reasonable measure. I believe that expecting an economy to recover and to prosper with so much problematic personal debt attached is almost akin to expecting a football team to play well if all one's players are three or four stone overweight. This simply will not happen and speaking from a County Kerry prospective, I tend to believe we know something about football. Similarly, the debt problem has been strangling this economy for some time and this measure at least constitutes a move in the right direction.

In addition, I acknowledge the role and activities of the Money Advice and Budgeting Service, MABS, since the onset of the current crisis in particular. I also acknowledge the positive development that a new office will open in my constituency in Killarney to complement the work being done in the Tralee office. I also take this opportunity to acknowledge the work of counselling centres throughout the country, which have done a huge amount with those who find themselves snowed under with debt. For example, having spoken to the people who run the SouthWest Counselling Centre, Killarney, I have been informed the centre is dealing with an unprecedented number of people who approach it when suicidal, extremely depressed, under pressure and anxious as a result of financial worries. I encourage anyone who may read the Official Report of this debate or who may be watching it on the Internet to talk to and engage with services such as the counselling services and MABS if he or she finds him or herself in such a position.

If enacted, this Bill will form part of the solution to Ireland's overall problems. It will complement the jobs plan, the €2 billion stimulus plan announced yesterday and various other existing incentives to business which the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Bruton, has of late been attempting to highlight in an effort to bring jobs for the people and to bring about economic recovery. This legislation also comprises part of the process of getting credit flowing in the economy again because no proper capitalist economy can function without a ready supply of credit. While, unfortunately, no proper availability of credit exists at present, this Bill forms part of the solution in this regard. I reiterate my welcome for the Bill and look forward to hearing further debate on it as it passes through its various stages. I again commend the Minister on the enormous amount of work that has been done in this regard.

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