Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail)
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17. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the total number of personal insolvency arrangements entered in to date under the new legislation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19266/14]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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The Insolvency Service of Ireland (ISI) recently published its Quarter 1 Statistics Report for 2014. The full report is available on its website: www.isi.gov.ie. These statistics will be updated on a quarterly basis.

With regard to the number of approved arrangements there were forty four (44) Debt Relief Notices; seven (7) Debt Settlement Arrangements and four (4) Personal Insolvency Arrangements agreed as at 31^stMarch. The total number of insolvency applications up to 31^stMarch was five hundred and twenty three (523).

Since its establishment the ISI has overseen the introduction of the debt relief solutions introduced by the Personal Insolvency Act 2012. As a result, insolvent debtors now have viable options available to them to deal with their indebtedness. While the numbers of insolvency arrangements in place are lower than expected, it is clear that the availability of these options has encouraged creditors and debtors to reach settlements through informal arrangements.

The number of new cases which have entered the ISI’s system since the beginning of the year and feedback received by the ISI from Personal Insolvency Practitioners and Approved Intermediaries suggest that the uptake of formal insolvency arrangements will increase significantly in future.

The development by the ISI of protocols between creditors and practitioners covering Debt Settlement Arrangements and Personal Insolvency Arrangements are expected to assist in that regard.