Law Reform Commission seeking submissions

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Brendan Burgess

Brendan Burgess

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The Law Reform Commission has issued a [broken link removed] (It is a 443 page PDF). It is an excellent document, well researched, well written and well argued.

To give you a flavour, I have posted their summary in the first reply to this post.

The Commissioner's presentation to a conference on the topic is [broken link removed]

They want submissions before the end of December.

Users of Askaboutmoney are well informed and well placed to make useful submissions. There may well be ideas which the LRC have not thought of.

This is a great opportunity to influence our legislation. I will probably make a submission myself. I may also summarise the posts on this forum if it takes off.

Would anyone like to volunteer to work on this project? For example, take a chapter from the Discussion Paper and summarise it and lead off the debate. And later summarise the discussion for a submission?


[broken link removed]
 
[FONT=&quot]The Consultation Paper has used the six key “building blocks” identified by the European[/FONT]
 [FONT=&quot]Commission needed to provide an effective response to consumer over-indebtedness:[/FONT]
 [FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
  • [FONT=&quot] responsible borrowing; [/FONT]
  • [FONT=&quot]responsible lending; [/FONT]
  • [FONT=&quot]responsible arrears management; [/FONT]
  • [FONT=&quot]debt[/FONT][FONT=&quot]counselling; [/FONT]
  • [FONT=&quot]personal insolvency law[/FONT]
  • [FONT=&quot]comprehensive court-related enforcement[/FONT][FONT=&quot]procedures.[/FONT]

 [FONT=&quot]The Consultation Paper also recommends that it is fundamental that the law recognises[/FONT]
 [FONT=&quot]the distinction between debtors who cannot pay and those who refuse to pay (those who[/FONT]
 [FONT=&quot]“can’t pay” and those who “won’t pay”).[/FONT]

 [FONT=&quot]Key recommendations[/FONT]
 [FONT=&quot]The key recommendations in the Consultation Paper have been based on the European[/FONT]
 [FONT=&quot]Commission’s six building blocks. The Paper makes suggestions for reform on the first[/FONT]
 [FONT=&quot]four, indicating that bodies such as IFSRA and the Government’s Review Group on[/FONT]
 [FONT=&quot]Financial Services Law could consider these.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Debt Management[/FONT]

 [FONT=&quot]On responsible lending, the Commission recommends that consideration be given to[/FONT]
 [FONT=&quot]whether the system of credit reporting in [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Ireland[/FONT][FONT=&quot] should be expanded or otherwise[/FONT]
 [FONT=&quot]improved.[/FONT]

 [FONT=&quot]On responsible arrears management, the Commission recommends that a system for[/FONT]
 [FONT=&quot]the regulation of debt collection agencies should be considered (noting that industry[/FONT]
 [FONT=&quot]representatives support this);[/FONT]

 [FONT=&quot]On debt counselling, the Commission recognises that this is primarily a matter of[/FONT]
 [FONT=&quot]social policy, but recommends that a system for regulating commercial debt advice[/FONT]
 [FONT=&quot]agencies should be considered.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Personal Insolvency Law[/FONT]

 [FONT=&quot]The Commission recommends the creation of a new system of personal insolvency law[/FONT]
 [FONT=&quot]in [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Ireland[/FONT][FONT=&quot]; in particular that a statutory non-court-based debt settlement scheme[/FONT]
 [FONT=&quot]should be introduced, which would supplement (though not necessarily replace[/FONT]
 [FONT=&quot]completely) the court-based scheme in the [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Bankruptcy Act 1988.[/FONT]

 [FONT=&quot]The key principles of the new system would be:
[/FONT]
  • [FONT=&quot]earned debt discharge; [/FONT]
  • [FONT=&quot]open access[/FONT]
  • [FONT=&quot]for honest and long-term insolvent debtors; [/FONT]
  • [FONT=&quot]legally binding debt settlement;[/FONT]
  • [FONT=&quot]preserving a reasonable standard of living for debtors; [/FONT]
  • [FONT=&quot]a discharge period of[/FONT][FONT=&quot]reasonable length (shorter than the 12 years in the [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Bankruptcy Act 1988 [/FONT][FONT=&quot]).[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Enforcement Procedures[/FONT]

 [FONT=&quot]The Commission provisionally recommends that the Irish enforcement system needs[/FONT]
 [FONT=&quot]fundamental reform., so that the existing enforcement procedures, including the[/FONT]
 [FONT=&quot]Debtors ([/FONT][FONT=&quot]Ireland[/FONT][FONT=&quot]) Act 1872 [/FONT][FONT=&quot]and the [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Enforcement of Court Orders Acts 1926 to 2009[/FONT]
 [FONT=&quot]should be replaced[/FONT]

 [FONT=&quot]The proposed new system would be based on the introduction of a central Debt[/FONT]
 [FONT=&quot]Enforcement Office (which could build on the current arrangements) and the removal[/FONT]
 [FONT=&quot]of much (but not all) of debt enforcement proceedings from the courts.[/FONT]

 [FONT=&quot]The key principles which should underpin this new system are also set out, in[/FONT]
 [FONT=&quot]particular:
[/FONT]
  • [FONT=&quot] proportionate, balanced and appropriate enforcement in each individual[/FONT]
  • [FONT=&quot]case;[/FONT]
  • [FONT=&quot] improved access to information on the means of debtors; [/FONT]
  • [FONT=&quot] clear and simplified[/FONT][FONT=&quot]enforcement procedures;[/FONT]
  • [FONT=&quot] increased efficiency and accountability in enforcement;[/FONT]
  • [FONT=&quot] a[/FONT][FONT=&quot]holistic approach to enforcement through interaction with the proposed debt[/FONT]
  • [FONT=&quot]settlement system; [/FONT]
  • [FONT=&quot] and the encouragement of increased participation of debtors in[/FONT][FONT=&quot]enforcement proceedings.[/FONT]

 [FONT=&quot]The Paper also recommends detailed reforms of individual enforcement methods,[/FONT]
 [FONT=&quot]many of which use outmoded terminology and procedures.[/FONT]
 
if they want submissions then a 440 page doc is an odd way to start, i know i'll be awaiting the cliff notes on this one!
 
I think it would be too difficult to get a submission on behalf of Askaboutmoney. We don't have (and shouldn't have) a stand on any issue, as Askaboutmoney.

I will be making my own personal submission and would encourage those of you who have contributed to this discussion to make your own submissions.

I will post my draft submission here. Maybe others might do the same?

Brendan
 
My biggest concern with this is that the consultation is pretty meaningless since any law put together by anyone with even half a brain in 2010 will be light years ahead of our current laws.

The real problem is that many LRC reports end up gathering dust so everyone who has debt worries or knows someone else who does should write to their local TDs and make it patently clear that if this law is not introduced before the end of 2010 they'll be booted out of office at the next election - and mean it!
 
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