Six years is the usual time limit allowed to recover a bad debt

Recourse to the courts is often a necessary step to recover a debt due to you

Recovering a debt through the courts can often prove time consuming and expensive. A comprehensive paper trail will always make debt recovery easier, including a written note of the loan, whether it was cash, cheque, bank transfer, etc. 

Dear Karen,

I gave a loan of €40,000 to a friend of mine (at least I thought he was a friend of mine, at the time) four years ago, to set up his own agricultural contractor business, and he was supposed to pay me back last year in full, but he is avoiding my calls and text messages, and won’t talk to me. I have called to his house, but he never appears to be home. I feel hurt and that I was taken advantage of. I cannot understand it, as his business appears to be doing well. It is a lot of money, and I want to get it back. What are my rights? What can I do to get my money back?