Richard Bruton (Fine Gael)

candidate Dáil election

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Dear Michael,

Attached please find the up to date position regarding the 27X bus.

Regards.

Richard Bruton TD

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Bar the most extreme cases, bankruptcy reflects the failure of the system. Where common sense is applied to most debtors’ circumstances, there is no need or point to making someone a bankrupt. The sale of non-essential assets should be a part of any arrangement made between a debtor and their creditors. Once the ability to provide for creditors from the income of the debtor through a Debt Settlement Agreement is taken into account and the proceeds from the sale non-essential assets are distributed there should be no need to go any further in most cases. But where this is not possible, Irish bankruptcy laws must be updated. They currently are unpractical, unused, excessively costly and overly penal. A Fine Gael Government will fast-track the reforms needed to bring us into line with best international standards, focusing on the following elements:

• Reducing the time to discharge from bankruptcy from six years to one for "honest bankrupts”, defined as one that has materially complied with the Tax, NAMA and Companies Acts among others;
  
• A Non-Judicial Debt Settlement System that will change bankruptcy from a judicial to an administrative process, with filings being made with a new Debt Settlement Office within the Courts Service without the need for legal representation;
  
• New Commercial Voluntary Arrangements (CVAs), which are legally binding arrangements between the directors of a company and their creditors (at least 75%) that would protect the debtor from interest charges and the threat of enforcement during the period of the life of the CVA;
  
• A Limited Residence and Personal Assets Safe Harbour that will permit a bankrupt to ring fence from the bankruptcy process ownership of a principal private residence (within limits based on size, value and family numbers) and specified personal assets not to exceed €40,000 in value; and
  
• A Prohibition against Discrimination against Discharged Bankrupts to ensure that former bankrupts are treated fairly in their applications for credit or other services.