Thomas Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am happy to hear it, as the issue is worth discussing. It would be relatively common for somebody to have an engagement ring in excess of the asset value. That could be a broken person, as the person in question would have been doing okay five years ago, like many people in the country, but could now be almost without assets and have hardly any income. We cannot take an engagement ring from a woman in those circumstances. I am sure the Minister, like me, can think of numerous women in his constituency who may be part of a broken marriage or in a relationship in which both people have lost jobs.

We must allow them have a debt relief notice and not include an engagement ring for the purposes of determining whether they can qualify for it. It is symbolic and would also have some practical effect but I welcome what the Minister said. I was hoping something like that would be proposed. I look forward to Report Stage but if the Minister is so willing, he might give me more detail.