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

I am advised by the Insolvency Service of Ireland, ISI that as at 23 September 2013, there are 47 personal insolvency practitioners, or PIPs, authorised as well as eight Money Advice & Budgeting Service companies, representing 28 individuals, authorised to act as approved intermediaries. I understand the ISI is processing a large number of practitioner applications and the number of authorised PIPs and approved intermediaries is expected to increase in the coming weeks.

Practitioners are expected to meet a number of standards, including fitness and probity. The fitness and probity requirements are set out in the Personal Insolvency Act 2012 (Authorisation and Supervision of Personal Insolvency Practitioners) Regulations 2013, SI 209 of 2013. These regulations set out the qualification criteria, authorisation requirements and regulatory standards which must be met for an individual to be authorised by the ISI to carry on the practice of a PIP.

The ISI charges an application fee of €1,500 for persons wishing to become authorised as such practitioners. In so far as practitioner fees associated with the development of debt settlement arrangements and personal insolvency arrangements are concerned, the ISI does not prescribe practitioner fees. These fees will be negotiated with an individual debtor by the personal insolvency practitioner in advance of a case proceeding, and will be deducted from the amount of money an individual creditor is calculated as having available to pay his or her creditors during the term of the arrangement.

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