Irish bankruptcy law to be brought in line with NI

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has told TDs that a law to reduce Irish bankruptcy terms from three years to one year could be passed before the Irish general election.

Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald is expected to present a report to the Cabinet in “the next couple of weeks”, after asking her department’s officials to examine issues raised by the joint committee on justice, defence and equality last July.

If the rules are changed, it would bring Irish bankruptcy law into line with that in Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.

Mr Kenny told the Dáil: “I must provide an update to the House from the Minister in respect of whether we can get this through in this session or not. My intention would be that it could happen.

“There are a number of pieces of legislation which are on the stocks to move through, and if it is possible to put this through I certainly will be strongly in support of it.”

Willie Penrose TD told The Irish Times that changing the law would end the “rather silly and impractical” situation where it is “three years’ bankruptcy here and one year north of the Border”.

He added: “This is something the Labour Party has supported and called for and I am pleased to see it will now happen.”