Mr. Lorcan O'Connor:

I thank the Deputy for providing this opportunity, because focusing on the individual voluntary arrangement, IVA, which is the UK equivalent of our debt settlement arrangement, was helpful to me in learning how the system might work here. As of now, the success rate of IVAs is very high. That is notwithstanding the fact that creditor support of 75% is required, which is far higher than what is required in this country. More than 90% of cases that are put to creditors for a vote are passed. The reason is that over time, creditors have become comfortable with how they operate. Equally, they have made it their business to ensure practitioners know what is acceptable to them. What creditors are ultimately saying is that here is a way in which this problem loan can be dealt with efficiently and effectively. The alternative, which is bankruptcy, will give far less, be more costly and take longer. They are satisfied because they are familiar with the way in which the process works. They are satisfied because they contribute to a representative forum which ensures that practitioners know what they want as creditors. They have faith in the proposals before them and they tick their internal boxes. Therefore, they vote “Yes”. That is what I am trying to achieve in my stakeholder consultations, albeit in a much shorter time. When I go to the Irish Banking Federation, IBF, I encourage it to interact with potential practitioners, setting out what it is from the IBF’s perspective that its members require a practitioner to bring to the table but, equally, that they understand what a PIP can offer vis-à-vis the alternatives. With that in mind, for example, we are facilitating a meeting tomorrow with the IBF and potential practitioners to go through the various issues.