The Personal Insolvency Bill has passed through the Dail and the Seanad and will now be presented to the President for his seal of approval.

The legislation was required under the terms of the bailout programme and will provide for the introduction of new debt resolution processes.

One new provision under the Bill will be the introduction of automatic discharge from bankruptcy after 3 years, subject to certain conditions.

This compares to the current 12 year arrangement.

'Radical reform'

The document already completed its passage through the Dáil back in November.

Speaking at the time Justice Minister Alan Shatter said "The Personal Insolvency Bill...will radically reform our insolvency legislation by introducing three new non-judicial debt resolution systems to deal with both unsustainable secured and unsecured debt thus providing new support for those genuinely experiencing severe financial difficulties".

"The Bill also provides for important reforms of our current bankruptcy legislation" he added.

Tom Murray is an expert commentator and President of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) in Ireland.

He gives a synopsis of the Bill as it passed its final legislative stages.