Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael)

I welcome the introduction of the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill. I commend the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Shatter, and the Minister of State in his Department for the work done. The Bill comprises 15 Parts and this reflects a great deal of hard work and late nights on their part and that of their staff to bring it to the Chamber. I will not touch on all areas, but will concentrate on a few areas.

I welcome the expansion of the Civil Legal Aid Act to enable advice to be given to victims of human trafficking. I agree with the comments by Deputy Boyd Barrett on the horrors of the whole area of human trafficking. I am not sure if Deputies have seen the film "Taken" starring Liam Neeson, where his daughter while on a trip to Europe was kidnapped and trafficked. She was drugged up and subjected to horrors that one would not think about until one sees them graphically portrayed in a film like that. That shows what could happen in the modern day world. I have concerns that the word "advice" would be too narrow and hope that "advice" would also include legal representation, which is particularly important for such a vulnerable person, the victim of such an abhorrent crime. Will the Minister clarify that at some stage in closing?

I welcome the reforms of the Bankruptcy Act 1998, which are long overdue. The automatic discharging of the bankruptcy order after 12 years is welcome as is the new mechanism which can enable the discharge of a bankruptcy order after five years if the courts deem it reasonable and proper to do so. However, in spite of the welcome reforms, I am concerned that further serious reform is due to help create a new debt settlement system which will help all citizens and not just the wealthy. As I speak tens of thousands of our citizens are in what can be described as a hopeless situation with unmanageable mortgages on homes that are in deep negative equity. These citizens will be the first to admit that they freely accepted mortgages which with the benefit of hindsight we now know were unsustainable in the long-term and were the result in many cases of irresponsible lending. It is obviously in nobody's interests and certainly not in the interests of society as a whole for citizens to remain in these hopeless situations with the negative effects on health, relationships and family life that debt brings. Reform must be introduced for those who cannot pay debts but not for those who will not pay their debts. I welcome the direction the Government is taking in its willingness to grasp the nettle and introduce reforms in the area of debt. As with this Bill, I hope the Bill on reforming our personal debt system will be introduced ahead of time. Today, Fianna Fáil called for the establishment of a debt enforcement office. I agree wholeheartedly with it as this will remove the emotive and personal issues of debt problems from the time-consuming and expensive setting of the courtroom. We do not want to see another quango established and we want to see the finer details of the measure. Such an office has been advocated by NGOs such as FLAC, the Free Legal Advice Centre, and the statutory Law Reform Commission, which published a comprehensive report into debt law reform last year. It is unfortunate that only now, from the Opposition benches, Fianna Fáil recognises the need for debt reform. It is ironic that the party's lethargic and arm's length approach towards proper financial regulation and governance led to so many people in Ireland having debt-related problems.

I had concerns that the spirit of the Official Languages Act, which is to safeguard and promote the use of Irish in the course of official business, was being downgraded in this Bill. I received many telephone calls and e-mails from Conradh na Gaeilge, which had concerns this measure would lead to a reduction in the status of the Official Languages Act. We went to the trouble of having Irish recognised as an official language of the EU through our Irish MEPs. I sought clarification on the issue. When the President signs the Bill into law, it becomes an Act. There is a backlog in the translation of these Acts and the change in the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill will allow for the publication of the English-language version of the Act online. The hard copy in both languages will be published in due course. It is tidying up the situation whereby people do not have hard copies of Acts in court because the Act has not been published due to this anomaly in the Official Languages Act. I am glad this is clarified by the Bill.

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