Arthur Spring (Kerry North-West Limerick, Labour) | Oireachtas source

There is a hang-up about bankruptcy in Ireland. There is a stigma attached to it with an unwillingness to declare it publicly and admit what is perceived as a failure when it is a consequence of something greater than the individual or the bank.

The one-year element will encourage many people to go down the route of bankruptcy. I would like to see an arrangement put in place whereby a line is put in the sand after the term is over, meaning an individual’s creditworthiness is fine and they are not excluded from the mortgage market, small business loans or car finance loans.

However, this will cost the banks money. With the price of property going up, the banks are getting back towards equilibrium and hoping to get repaid the money they lent. If people start pressing the eject button with the bankruptcy arrangement of one year, however, it will have a negative effect on the banks. Ulster Bank is one of the better banks for dealing with customers and helping them with mortgage problems. There is still a long way to go, however. The numbers involved in negative equity, in arrears and distressed mortgages is enormous. I am of the generation that is affected. I would encourage the banks to facilitate the one-year term for bankruptcy. The banks should allow for credit ratings to be renewed without the baggage of the past.

Has Ulster Bank engaged with the Department of Finance, the Central Bank or Financial Services Ireland on the idea of the bankruptcy period being reduced from three years to one?