Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

It is not new. I checked this with some brokers this morning. This has been a standard practice within the insurance industry for a number of years. A declaration of bankruptcy is placed in the same category as conviction or charge in respect of arson or any criminal offence, other than a motoring offence. Bankruptcy is not a crime. It may be the result of bad business practice, for which a person is not imprisoned unless he or she has embezzled funds and so on. Can the witnesses provide any explanation in regard to the reason bankruptcy is considered a valid reason for the non-granting of house insurance?