The main aim of the Personal Insolvency Bill 2012 is, according to our present Minister for Justice, to reform personal insolvency laws as opposed to corporate insolvency laws.
Again according to the Minister the Bill intends to provide incentives for lending institutions to sort out various debt issues between themselves and their borrowers.
For the first time in Ireland the Act which came into law on 18th of July last gives legal recognition for same sex couples in Ireland. In addition it offers additional rights and protection for co-habiting couples enabling them to apply to a Court for redress, i.e. seek financial relief from a partner after the breakdown of the relationship or the death of a partner.
Co-habiting couples are the fastest growing family unit in Ireland. In 1996 there were 31,300 couples living together whilst unmarried. However, the 2006 Census indicated that in that particular year there were 121,800 co-habiting couples i.e. nearly a quarter of a million people. Indeed those figures represent one in every twelve family units.