Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We support the Personal Insolvency (Amendment) Bill 2020. I acknowledge that it is a technical Bill but there are anomalies in it that need to be addressed in the context of the particular situation in which we find ourselves with the Covid pandemic. I am sure that every Deputy in the Chamber and outside it has encountered multiple people who find themselves in the type of situation this Bill seeks to address. There are people still dealing with the outworkings of the financial crash. There are people who are struggling with the high cost of living in this State, as mentioned by a previous speaker. We have been talking a great deal this week about the housing crisis and making the point that the systems and policies that are in place are not delivering for people. Until that issue is addressed, we will be dealing with more people in situations like those being discussed today.

We also have a situation where people on the periphery and who are under pressure cannot access credit. They might previously have had a relationship with the local credit union, for example, that may not be available to them any more. People in that situation may end up turning to moneylenders. The legislation on this issue that was brought forward by Deputy Doherty needs to be looked at with a view, at least, to putting protections in place for people in those circumstances. We do not want more people to fall into a situation where they need those types of services. We must do everything we can to ensure security for people by dealing with the cost of living and housing and delivering real solutions if they do fall into circumstances such as personal insolvency.

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