Dan Neville (Limerick, Fine Gael)
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138. To ask the Minister for Finance regarding the personal insolvency legislation, if his attention has been drawn to the fact that some credit unions are not co-operating with this; his views that the credit union movement (details supplied) should be encouraged to become involved in the insolvency process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49564/14]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The Personal Insolvency Act was introduced in 2012 by the Minister for Justice and Equality and provides for a fairer balance between the legitimate interests of creditors, which in respect of Credit Unions are their members, and debtors experiencing debt difficulty.  In particular it has reduced the bankruptcy period to three years and has introduced three new debt resolution processes:

1. Debt Relief Notice (DRN)applies to people with few assets and low income who do not have mortgage debt
2. Debt Settlement Arrangement (DSA)applies to people with unsecured debt such as loans, overdrafts or credit card debt
3. Personal Insolvency Arrangement (PIA)applies to people with secured debt such as a mortgage and unsecured debt.
4. The initiative under these new frameworks rests with the debtor, utilising a Personal Insolvency Practitioner or Approved Intermediary, as appropriate. However, in the case of a PIA or DSA proposal, the relevant creditors have the opportunity to consider and, where necessary, vote on the proposal made by the debtor.  The precise terms of any PIA or DSA, as proposed by a debtor and agreed by creditors, is a matter for the respective parties, having regard to the circumstances of any individual case.
5. Where a protective certificate issues, creditors affected by it are prevented by law from taking any step to secure or recover payment, including initiation or prosecution of legal proceedings.  Where a proposal is accepted by creditors these protections extend for the duration of the arrangement.
6. I understand from the Insolvency Service of Ireland (ISI) that both the Irish League of Credit Unions and the Credit Union Development Association, as credit union representative bodies, have been very engaged in working with the ISI on developing protocols covering standard terms for DSA and PIA arrangements.
7. However, both from a regulatory and supervisory point of view, it is the money of the saving members of credit unions that is ultimately lent to borrowing members, and credit unions must take appropriate steps to protect these funds. It is a matter for individual credit unions to determine how it deals with members' experiencing financial difficulty while ensuring compliance with legal and regulatory requirements.