Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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Question 126: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the position regarding his programme for Government commitments on fast-tracking personal bankruptcy reform. [27660/11]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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In line with a commitment in the Programme for Government a Personal Insolvency Bill is in the course of being developed in my Department to provide for a new framework for settlement and enforcement of debt and for personal insolvency. The commitment under the EU/IMF Programme of Financial Support for Ireland is to publish the Bill in Quarter 1 of 2012. It is my objective to publish the measure ahead of the EU/IMF deadline, if possible.

In developing the Bill, account is being taken of the recommendations of the Law Reform Commission in its recent Report on Personal Debt Management and Debt Enforcement.That report provided an in-depth review of the personal debt regime. The economic and financial effects of certain of the new arrangements that are in contemplation are being carefully assessed to ensure that all relevant issues are addressed and their impact is fully anticipated and understood.

I should inform the Deputy that the Government has already introduced some important early reforms to our bankruptcy laws. These were provided for in the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2011. The most noteworthy of these provisions will come into force on 10 October and provide (i) for the reduction of the application period to the court for discharge from bankruptcy from 12 years to 5 years, subject to the same conditions that exist at present, and (ii) for the first time in Irish law, for the automatic discharge of bankruptcies on the 12th anniversary of the bankruptcy adjudication order. A number of other, mainly technical, improvements to bankruptcy law contained in the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2011 are already in force since 2 August 2011.