Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Question 66: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform when he will bring forward legislative proposals to change the law on debt enforcement arising from his speech to a Law Reform Commission conference on debt on 18 November 2009; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46172/09]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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The Government is committed to implementing substantial reform of the system, legal and administrative, as it affects those in personal debt. The reform commitment is based on the work of the Law Reform Commission who having published its Consultation Paper entitled "Personal Debt Management and Debt Enforcement", intends to finalise its recommendations as a matter of priority. To date, the Commission has made a total of 123 provisional recommendations that include: replacement of legislation on enforcement of debt, new insolvency regulation laws, regulation of debt collectors and the basis for an out of court settlement approach as soon as possible.

I can inform the House that the Government has approved the establishment of an Inter-Departmental Working Group on Personal Debt Management and Enforcement to (a) consider the commitment under Helping those in Debt envisaged in the revised Programme for Government; (b) agree a plan for implementation where appropriate of the recommendations of the Law Reform Commission; (c) assist in the development of a coherent and comprehensive administrative and legislative response to the issues arising; and (d) determine those measures, administrative and legislative, that can be implemented in a cost efficient manner, for early effective results.

The Deputy will recall that, with the co-operation of the House, I recently promoted to enactment the Enforcement of Court Orders (Amendment) Act 2009. I brought this forward following a High Court judgment earlier this year, and it provides that certain safeguards will apply to the provisions under which a court may hear an application or grant an imprisonment order against a debtor who has failed to comply with an instalment order. The Act ensures that the court will not imprison the debtor unless it is satisfied that he has the means to pay and may also postpone the execution of an imprisonment order until such time as it thinks just. In addition, the court will inform a debtor of the risk of imprisonment and of his entitlement to apply for legal aid. The Act gives the court a clear power to vary the terms of an order to pay by instalments or alternatively to refer the parties for mediation.