Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The take-up was slow initially but there was an expectation that there would be a slow start to this new legislation in this jurisdiction. The recent Insolvency Service of Ireland, ISI, quarterly statistics were published in October and in summary, during quarter three, 61 debt relief notices, 22 debt settlement arrangements and 48 personal insolvency arrangements were approved. In addition, there were 137 bankruptcy adjudications in the third quarter of 2014 following the reduction in the duration of bankruptcy to three years. In the year to the end of the second quarter there were 301 bankruptcy adjudications compared to 58 in the whole of 2003. Steady progress is being made. As the new staff settle in the new legal framework is proving to be quite effective and helpful. Its very existence is giving an impetus to bilateral arrangements between banks and persons in mortgage difficulty. The Department of Justice and Equality is carrying out the review, which will consult with the Department of Finance but as yet I have no clear indication of that.

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