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

These amendments provide for situations where an approved intermediary or personal insolvency practitioner resigns or becomes unable to act, and a replacement intermediary or practitioner is appointed.

Amendment No. 40improves the text of the provisions of section 25 dealing with situations where an approved intermediary resigns or otherwise becomes unavailable to continue acting as such for the debtor. Essentially, the required notifications to be made by the parties concerned are set out in a clearer fashion. Subsection (10) now provides that if an approved intermediary resigns from the role in respect of a debtor, the intermediary shall be required to notify the insolvency service. A replacement approved intermediary must inform the insolvency service of his or her appointment. I ask the House to note a slight correction of alignment in amendment No. 40, which is that in the new subsection (10), the text after paragraph (d) should be aligned to subsection level. That will be dealt with in the final printed form of the Bill.

Amendment No. 54amends the existing provision so as to empower the insolvency service toprescribe the criteria for authorisation of persons as authorised intermediaries.

Amendment No. 55 provides that the authorisation of a person to act as an approved intermediary may be withdrawn, as provided for in regulations, when they no longer meet the criteria for authorisation.

Amendment No. 58 replaces subsections (4) to (6) of section 46 with new text regarding notification and reporting responsibilities relating to the resignation and replacement of personal insolvency practitioners. These amendments are required to improve the overall presentation of the section for clarity and for consistency of approach with the amendments to section 25 regarding approved intermediaries.

Amendments Nos. 41, 59, 170 and 180 aretechnical drafting amendments to further refine the text.

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