Mr. Lorcan O'Connor:

I agree that we should be trying to achieve as high a number as we can. Those availing of ISI solutions can be assured of greater transparency - this applies to all stakeholders involved - and a holistic solution. On occasion, the voluntary solutions the banks are offering may only solve the mortgage problem, but there could be other credit union loans, credit card loans and so on that must be dealt with. There are advantages in availing of the ISI services in this regard. That is not to say people should not try to solve their problems short of the ISI, but I agree with the broad thrust of Deputy Donnelly's statement.

Deputy Donnelly asked what we can do to try to get the number as high as possible by the end of the year. The first thing we can do is to roll out an information campaign again. We had one this time last year when we were launching the organisation and we tried to produce as many cases studies and guides as possible. We were keen to have several cases successfully through the system before we engaged in a further round of information. It is important for us to be able to demonstrate that, for example, Joe went through successfully and to outline his situation at the moment, and we are able to do that now. We are planning, in consultation with the several stakeholders, including the Citizens' Information Board and others, to have several information sessions which will be light in terms of presentation, perhaps only half an hour or an hour explaining the options, but to have scattered throughout the room a dozen local personal insolvency practitioners, several people from the Money Advice and Budgeting Service offices and several people from Mr. Lehane's bankruptcy division as well as representatives of the ISI. The idea is for people to be able to sit down and have a face-to-face ten or 15 minute conversation that evening with the people concerned to tease out their initial queries. That might lead to people formally meeting with a personal insolvency practitioner or whoever. That is one thing in terms of information.

The second thing is the protocol. I cannot overstate the importance of the protocol because it is moving what is a blockage in the system. It will smooth out the entire process and make it more efficient. We are very close to publishing it. I am hopeful that we will publish it during the month of May. I believe it will encourage personal insolvency practitioners, because they will then have far greater confidence that the cases they are taking on will successfully go through the system. It should help creditors because they will see that the goalposts are not moving from one case to another as they come before them. Furthermore, they will know, broadly speaking, what will come forward and they can focus on the commercial proposal. It also helps debtors because they will know where the goalposts are, since they will have been fixed, and they will know what they are signing up to. Far more clarity has been brought to the situation.