Mr. Lorcan O'Connor:

I understand that view. It is important to remember that these are voluntary arrangements and require a personal insolvency practitioner, PIP, as mediator to bring the two sides to the table. In any negotiation, there are always reference points. Bankruptcy now has a reduced term of three years. While I take the Deputy's point about the spirit of the legislation and so on, bankruptcy is nonetheless a relevant point. Deals were not being done this time last year because the debtor did not want to wake the sleeping dog in the corner. If the bluff was called, a 12-year bankruptcy was not an attractive option to pursue. As the period has been reduced to three years, bankruptcy is no longer something that people would not necessarily favour. This has moved the negotiations to a different position from that they inhabited this time last year.