Personal Insolvency (Amendment) Act 2015
The Minister for Justice and Equality has signed a Commencement Order on 30th September 2015 to bring into immediate effect most of the provisions of the Personal Insolvency (Amendment) Act, 2015 (2015 Act). The 2015 Act introduces significant changes to The Personal Insolvency Act 2012. Among other changes, the 2015 Act introduces a Court review process where the secured creditor/s has/have rejected a borrower’s proposed Personal Insolvency Arrangement (PIA), provided (i) the debt is secured on the borrower’s principal private residence, (ii) the majority of at least one class of creditors (for example secured or unsecured creditors) voted in favour of the PIA and (iii) the borrower was in arrears on 1 January 2015 or the debt has been restructured. Where a secured creditor was once able to veto a borrower’s proposal for a PIA, the Court (the Circuit Court or where the debt exceeds €2.5 million the High Court) now has the power to enforce the proposed PIA rejected by the creditor, if it is fair and equitable for both the borrower and the creditor to do so.
The 2015 Act also increases the upper limit of debt that may be covered by a debt relief notice from €20,000 to €35,000.