Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

A number of statutory instruments went before the Joint committee on Justice, Defence and Equality, but unfortunately they did not come before this committee. I am sure Mr. O'Connor is aware of their contents. An issue raised time and again by the Free Legal Advice Centres is the issue of fees and the potential for personal insolvency practitioners to cherry-pick clients based on the potential payment. I am not sure if there is anything in the statutory instruments which would prevent a personal insolvency practitioner from charging a potential client an assessment fee at the very start. Will Mr. O'Connor talk me through the scenario in which the personal insolvency practitioner makes a suggestion to creditors which is rejected? In such a case, how does the practitioner get paid?