Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Amendments Nos. 120 to 123, inclusive, refer to section 79 and seek to increase the time period for an application by a creditor or personal insolvency practitioner to the appropriate court to have a debt settlement arrangement terminated where the debtor has been arrears with payment for a period of not less than three months to a period of six months. Deputy Collins raised this point on Committee Stage. In the context of the debt settlement arrangement where, without any notification by the debtor to his or her personal insolvency practitioner, a six month payment default occurs, that arrangement is unlikely to succeed. It is important to remember that we are seeking to balance the interests of debtors and creditors through the debt resolution process. I remain unconvinced that the period in this section should be extended to six months. It is likely that substantial arrears accumulating in the context of moneys owing to a variety of individuals was the reason that the arrangement was put in place in the first instance. It would be put in place on the assumption that the debtor was going to meet his or her repayment commitments, as agreed, and indeed would have the capacity to meet them. It would be unfair to creditors to prolong matters unduly to a six month period in circumstances where it has become obvious the arrangement simply is not working. A three month period in this context is adequate, so I oppose the amendments.

Amendments Nos. 124 to 127, inclusive, refer to section 80 and seek to increase from six months to nine the timeframe in which the debtor has been in default sufficient for a debt settlement arrangement to be deemed to have failed and needing to be terminated. Deputy Collins also raised these points on Committee Stage. I am opposed to the amendments for the reasons I expressed on Committee Stage. In a debt settlement arrangement where, without any notification by the debtor to his or her personal insolvency practitioner, a six month payment default has occurred, that arrangement is clearly unlikely to succeed. I am not convinced the default period should be extended to nine months.

See this speech in context