Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The section deals with the provision of a variation order. The Government has hailed this as a safeguard. It is not a safeguard and it is definitely not an appeals mechanism. As I have said, another major flaw of the Bill is the lack of an appeals mechanism given that the courts can get it wrong. Of the 27 sections in the Bill, there is only one section of merit, namely, section 26, which repeals Parts I and IV of the Debtors Act (Ireland) 1872 and is the only section of the Bill we support. We agree with the recommendations of the Law Reform Commission to provide for the abolition of imprisonment of debtors except in the case of maintenance arising from family law. It is in line with international best practice on human rights. The fact this has been sneakily attached to a section at the very back of the Bill is cynical and disguises the entire Bill as a step forward. For the reasons outlined, we object to the section.