Cork East Fine Gael TD, David Stanton has urged anyone in financial difficulty to engage with their creditors and, if necessary, the Insolvency Service of Ireland, as early as possible.
“This week the Oireachtas Justice Committee, which I Chair, meet with the Insolvency Service of Ireland to discuss the Service has worked in its first full year of operation. The Committee, having engaged in a detailed pre-legislative process for the 2012 personal insolvency legislation, was keen to see how effective the new arrangements have been in assisting people who are in serious financial difficulty.
“One of the main issues that arose during our meeting was the need for people in debt to engage with their creditors at the earliest possible to ensure the speediest resolution to what is a very anxious and stressful time. The service was also keen to improve communication to anyone in debt to ensure that they are fully aware of all their options to reach a resolution so they only access bankruptcy as a last resort”, noted Deputy Stanton.
“I understand that the Service has helped almost 2000 debtors to date and that they have established over 1000 of the three debt solution agreements which are available depending on the level and type of debt: Debt Relief Notice (DRN), Debt Settlement Arrangement (DSA) and Personal Insolvency Arrangement (PIA). Full details of these different solutions and bankruptcy are available on the Insolvency Service of Ireland website at: https://www.isi.gov.ie/en/ISI/Pages/Debt_solutions
“Since it began operating the Insolvency Service have undertaken a number of initiatives to improve awareness of their service and to make it more accessible to people. In October 2014 the Service undertook to underwrite costs up to €750 per case to ensure debtors have access to Personal Insolvency Practitioners. It also waived all application fees associated with insolvency and bankruptcy solutions and the Courts Service has also reduced fees in this area meaning that a bankruptcy application now costs €270 when before it cost €1,500.
“A ‘Back on Track’ information campaign was launched which included a new dedicated website for insolvent debtors (http://backontrack.ie/).
“I would urge anyone struggling with debt people to consult this website as it not only gives information on debt solutions available but also details of Personal Insolvency Practitioners across the country, as does the website of the Insolvency Service (https://www.isi.gov.ie/). Alternatively the Insolvency Service can be contacted by email: info@isi.gov.ie or by telephone at: 076 1064200.
