Unpaid debts - Prison is not the answer

The Law Reform Commission’s report on Personal Debt Management and Debt Enforcement is being published today.

It is likely to attract considerable attention in the midst of the existing economic crisis, when it seems that most successful developers, the banks, and even the country as a whole are insolvent.

The report, which runs to 440 pages, includes a draft for a Personal Insolvency Bill. Among some 200 recommendations is the suggestion that nobody should be jailed for personal debt, including those who can afford to pay but refuse to do so.