Attorney General asked to draft new Bankruptcy Bill

Attorney General Máire Whelan SC has been asked to draft a Bankruptcy Bill after the Cabinet agreed to bring bankruptcy terms in Ireland in line with Northern Ireland and the UK.

The proposed legislation will reduce bankruptcy terms in Ireland from three years to one year, but will also increase the maximum penalty for concealing assets from an additional eight years to an additional fifteen years.

The bill will reportedly also provide that bankrupts will not have to attend statutory court hearings in a bid to prevent any additional pressure on the courts as a result of the changes.

Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald has said she wants the new rules to be enacted before the end of the current Dáil session.

Willie Penrose TD, who previously presented a private member’s bill with similar provisions to the Dáil, has described the disparity between bankruptcy terms in Ireland and Northern Ireland as “rather silly and impractical”.

Mr Penrose has said he is “very pleased” that legislation to effect the change is going through.