Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senators for a very constructive and interesting debate on this Bill as it has moved through all Stages. I thank them for the issues they raised and I hope issues of difficulty discussed in this Chamber are now fully addressed in the content of the Bill. Bringing the Bill to a conclusion in the Seanad has been like running a marathon. This is complex legislation and we have taken up a lot of time in the Chamber but it has been time well spent. I must now return to the other House and explain why we did so much constructive business in the House and seek approval in the Dáil for the amendments now included in the Bill.

This Bill is of substantial importance in the current economic climate where so many citizens find themselves in serious financial difficulty, many through no fault of their own. The new debt resolution mechanisms provided for in the Bill give rise to a possibility of people working through their debt issues with real hope for the future. I look forward to and hope the objectives of the Bill will be fulfilled and that it will facilitate individuals who genuinely cannot pay their debts and are in major financial difficulty entering into constructive and appropriate arrangements with creditors, including financial institutions. It is vital that creditors have the fullest information available to them as to individuals' financial resources and income, assets and liabilities, and that they apply a degree of common sense and realism in any discussions that may take place with a view to addressing issues through the non-judicial debt settlement mechanism. Reforms are also being made to bankruptcy which essentially prescribe a three-year period of bankruptcy, a substantial change in our law that creates the possibility for individuals who find themselves bankrupt to rebuild their lives within a reasonable period while extending to creditors the possibility during the period of bankruptcy of recouping what can be recouped by them to meet debts that are legally and appropriately due.

I thank Senators for the substantial work they undertook on this Bill and for the very interesting contributions made in this House. I value the time we have spent dealing with the Bill.