Bankruptcy Procedure in Ireland

Bankruptcy Law in Ireland

The main legal framework with respect to bankruptcy procedures in Ireland was enabled in 1988. According to the Bankruptcy Law in Ireland, bankruptcy is an insolvency process through which a settlement of debt is arranged between a debtor and one or more creditors. Among the consequences of bankruptcy procedures, in case of Irish companies especially, the debts are written off immediately.

The Irish legislation allows for both companies and natural persons to apply for bankruptcy. Bankruptcy procedures in Ireland are conducted by the High Court.

Bankruptcy process in Ireland

When declaring bankruptcy, companies are recommended to ask for the advice of experts in Ireland. In order to start bankruptcy procedures a company must file a petition and a certified declaration with the Official Assignee.  The documents must also be stamped by a court stamp office and then filed with the Examiner’s Office.

The process will then be moved to Court, where a judge will approve the bankruptcy and appoint a bankruptcy inspector to assess the Irish company’s assets and debts. The inspector will serve the company a Bankruptcy Order and a Warrant of Seizure, based on which the proceedings will start. Once the bankruptcy procedure has started, the Irish company will be discharged from any debt and the inspector will administer the estate.

Once the procedure is finished, the name of the company will be registered with the Bankruptcy Register within the High Court.

Being discharged from bankruptcy in Ireland

An Irish company is officially discharged from bankruptcy after 3 years. However, the name of the company will remain in the Bankruptcy Register. Also, if any income payment agreement or payment order is in place the bankruptcy procedure may take up to 5 years. Getting discharged from bankruptcy may take less if:

• - the debtor has liquidated all the debts,
• - if the creditors have been paid,
• - if the creditors have given their consent,
• - if an agreement has been reached with at least 60% of the creditors.

Also, provided that all the company’s debts have been liquidated and any money or property remains, these assets will be divided among the Irish company’s shareholders.

For complete information about bankruptcy procedures, please contact our specialists in company formation in Ireland.