However, option for Official Assignee to extend to three years should be provided for
Cork East Fine Gael TD, David Stanton has welcomed the publication of the Oireachtas Justice Committee’s report on bankruptcy which proposes to reduce the bankruptcy term from three years to one year. The Report on the Term of Bankruptcy in Ireland follows a public call for submissions, which resulted in over 100 submissions being received from a wide range of stakeholders and interested parties.
“As Chairperson of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality, I am very pleased at the high level of engagement with the Committee on this issue”, said David Stanton TD. “The consultation process was on one very specific matter, namely, should the term for bankruptcy in Ireland be reduced from three years to one year. While the Committee has examined the contents of all submissions it has decided only to publish submissions from organisations.
“The issue of bankruptcy is a matter that retains renewed and very relevant context in the aftermath of the banking crisis and consequent financial collapse. Bankruptcy should not be used as a “quick fix” solution for someone in financial difficulties to the detriment of their creditors when other solutions might be more equitable. However, based on this process, the Committee believes that this issue should be kept under constant review and believes that the mechanism of bankruptcy should aid recovery in the fairest possible way, but not excessively punish the debtor.
“On behalf of the Committee, I would like to express my gratitude to all those who took the time to make a submission, particularly the many deeply personal stories of individuals impacted by the financial crisis, the contents of which have been noted by the Committee.
Anyone wishing to view the Committee’s Report on the Term of Bankruptcy in Ireland is available at: http://www.oireachtas.ie/parliament/media/committees/justice/Bankruptcy-Report-for-publication.pdf