Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail)
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113. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality to set down the number of deals concluded under the new personal insolvency regime to date; the number sought; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19373/15]

Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail)
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I want to know the number of deals that have been concluded by the Insolvency Service of Ireland in comparison to the number of cases it has taken on. We know that the Insolvency Service of Ireland has not delivered or has not had the desired effect that was intended when it was set up. There is a sense of déjà vuin that here we are in the House today saying, "We told you so" again in respect of the bank veto. Will the Minister give us some detail on the statistics and the follow-through on the recent Government announcement to the effect that it intends to deal with the bank veto?

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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As published in the Insolvency Service of Ireland's quarter 1 statistics, the ISI has received 2,013 applications since its launch on 1 March 2013. A total of 996 protective certificates have been granted and 821 arrangements have been put in place. In terms of the ISI's indirect impact it is worth remembering that prior to its establishment insolvent debtors were not obtaining informal debt agreements with creditors but the situation is rather different now. I believe the establishment of the ISI has been a significant catalyst for this change and, generally, I believe people familiar with this issue would agree with that. As the Deputy will be aware, under a major reform of the insolvency framework announced recently the courts will be given the power to approve insolvency deals rejected by banks where the proposal relates to mortgages or mortgage arrears on the borrower's home and certain criteria are satisfied.

The quarter 1 statistics of the ISI show that creditors are already voting in favour of personal insolvency arrangements in three out of four cases. I believe that by giving the courts the power to review cases in which creditors initially reject personal insolvency arrangements, including power to overturn that rejection, and where certain criteria are met, acceptance rates will increase and more debtors will avail of the debt solutions offered by the ISI. I expect that this development, along with the rest of the measures announced by Government - the Deputy will be familiar with the other initiatives - will strengthen the framework to support mortgage holders in arrears and will encourage more debtors to seek the assistance they need to get back on track financially.

There is a major public information aspect to this as well in terms of encouraging people to use the services available, including the ISI, MABS and other organisations which can give support.

Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail)
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I intend to raise many of the points I am making in the House today with representatives of the ISI tomorrow when it attends the justice committee. The last point that the Minister made in terms of public awareness cannot be emphasised enough. My colleague, Deputy O'Dea, and I attended the sitting of the Circuit Court in Limerick recently, where there were 219 cases heard by the County Registrar on the day. Every person involved was asked by the registrar whether they had engaged with the ISI. Inasmuch as I could ascertain having sat through most of it I do not believe there was one person there that day who said that he had interacted with it. That is an indictment of the ISI and the fact that it is not marketing its service. It also shows a disconnect between the banks, which are pursuing these people relentlessly into court, and the insolvency service in that there is no loop between the two in terms of banks pointing and pushing people towards the insolvency service and showing them that this is a channel through which they should engage.

I call on the Minister again to outline when she intends to remove the bank veto. Can the Minister give us a timescale in this regard? As we know, certain people are watching this day by day. Can the Minister also offer a comment on the Government's proposals around the bankruptcy term? At present it is three years at a minimum. Deputy Willie Penrose from the Labour Party has produced a Bill on the matter. Where is the Government in terms of reducing the three-year term? Can we have the Minister's view on the matter?

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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Deputy Collins asked a question on bankruptcy. Those responsible for dealing with these issues in some modern economies believe that a three-year bankruptcy term is the appropriate one and that is what they have.

Others have shorter terms. I have asked both the Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality, on which the Deputy serves, and the Joint Committee on Finance to examine the proposals and revert to me, by July I hope, with their views on the advantages and disadvantages of reducing the terms. Obviously, arguments are made both ways. The debate will benefit from the committees' examination of the bankruptcy terms and the possible implications of changes to them.

The legislation, based on the examinership model, is being worked on and will be brought before the House before the end of this term. Yesterday I met a number of people who were working together, including staff from the Insolvency Service of Ireland, to ensure there was very clear communication with the public on the range of initiatives taken by the Government, including particularly the use of MABS. To take up the Deputy's point, we are also in discussions with the Courts Service to determine whether initiatives can be streamlined to ensure more cases will be referred to the Insolvency Service of Ireland.