Colm Burke (Fine Gael)

I agree with Senator O'Donovan to a large degree. However, my problem with amending the period to three years is that while much work has been done to improve the current procedures on bankruptcy, once a person is declared bankrupt it still takes time to go through the entire procedure of collecting and distributing whatever money is involved. I would be inclined to move to the five year period. It is an issue we should revisit in two or three years time with a view to reducing the period further. It would be unwise to reduce it from 12 to three years because of the existing procedures. I am not satisfied that in many cases all of the issues are resolved. That is happening also in a large number of receiverships dealing with companies where many of the issues are not resolved within the three year period. The five year period is the one to decide on and I would say to the Minister that we should mark it for review within the next two years to determine if it should be reduced further.