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

I welcome the arrangements that AIB have put in place. One of the great difficulties that all Members on both sides of the House have referenced in recent times has been the slowness of the banks in entering into permanent debt settlement arrangements with their customers. There have been tens of thousands of temporary or interim arrangements entered into but very few permanent arrangements. I always said when the legislation was going through the House that a sign of its success would be if it forced the banks and other financial institutions into finally addressing, on a permanent basis, the indebtedness of individuals who have no possibility of addressing their debt issues unless appropriate arrangements are put in place. The intention always was that the personal insolvency legislation would be used as a last resort, not a first resort. In that context, I welcome the fact that this step has been taken. I hope there are many individuals whose debt issues will be resolved through that process, without having to resort to the personal insolvency legislation.

As far as I am aware, there are hundreds of cases in the pipeline in the context of work that is being done by personal insolvency practitioners. As my initial reply indicated, more personal insolvency practitioners are expected to be licensed in the coming weeks.

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