Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

It will be a new section before section 8. It is what we call "lastminute.com". As indicated during the Second Stage debate, it is proposed to introduce, at the request of the Minister for Justice and Equality, a number of amendments to the Personal Insolvency Act 2012 and the Bankruptcy Act 1988 on Report Stage. For the convenience of Senators, I will circulate an explanation of the amendments.

The Personal Insolvency Act 2012 amendments will involve the insertion of a new section in page 11, between lines 14 and 15. The proposed amendments to the Personal Insolvency Act relate to the debt relief notice process provided in that Act. The process is one of the key judicial debt resolution instruments in the Act and, subject to relevant conditions, allows for the write-off of qualifying debt up to €20,000, subject to a three year supervision period.

The amendments are designed to respond to issues raised by the Money Advice and Budgeting Service, MABS, and will assist the MABS approved intermediaries in commencing the operation of the debt relief notice process in the 2012 Act and ensure greater clarity for debtors and creditors alike.

In brief, it is proposed to amend the Personal Insolvency Act:

(a) in section 25, by substituting the following definition for the definition of "debt":" "debt", in relation to a debtor, means a debt for a liquidated sum that, on the application date, is payable either immediately or at some future time;";(b) in section 26, by deleting subsection (4);
(c) in section 27(6), by substituting the following for paragraph (a):" (a) the information contained in the debtor's Prescribed Financial Statement is true and accurate in all material respects, and",(d) in section 43(3)(b), by substituting the following for subparagraph (v):"(v) the procedural requirements specified in this Chapter were not complied with;
(vi) the debtor has by his or her conduct within the period of 6 months ending on the application date arranged his or her financial affairs primarily with a view to being or becoming eligible for the issue of a Debt Relief Notice.", and(e) in section 44(3), by substituting the following for paragraph (f):"(f) the procedural requirements specified in this Chapter were not complied with;
(g) the debtor has by his or her conduct within the period of 6 months ending on the application date arranged his or her financial affairs primarily with a view to being or becoming eligible for the issue of a Debt Relief Notice.".

The Bankruptcy Act amendments will involve the insertion of a new section in page 11 between lines 14 and 15.

With the objective of reducing the costs associated with bankruptcy, the Insolvency Service of Ireland has proposed that it would provide, cost free, a facility on its website for a bankrupt to "notice" that fact as required by law. Currently, only publication in Iris Oifigiúil and a newspaper are permitted. This change could save a bankrupt up to €500 in newspaper costs.

The textual amendment to a number of relevant sections of the Bankruptcy Act 1988 would allow the Minister for Justice and Equality to prescribe how notice was to be given by the bankrupt.

A further proposed amendment to section 140A(5) would permit the relevant register to be maintained in electronic format. As a consequence, I am considering bringing forward amendments to section 8, that is, the commencement provision. The proposed amendments outlined above will necessitate an amendment to the Long Title of the Bill.

For the Senators' benefit, I wish to inform them that the proposed amendments will be subject to full discussion on Report Stage. There is no ambiguity about that. This is merely a notification to Senators that they are being brought forward. There will be no issue on Report Stage about ensuring these amendments are discussed thoroughly.