About the Insolvency Service of Ireland

The Insolvency Service of Ireland (ISI) is an independent statutory body which was established on 1 March, 2013.

Our objective is to restore insolvent persons to solvency.

The ISI carries out its remit through a number of business areas. These are:

• case management
• bankruptcy
• regulation and policy
• legal
• corporate affairs

The principal functions of the Insolvency Service are to:

• monitor the operation of the arrangements relating to personal insolvency, the Debt Relief Notice (DRN), the Debt Settlement Arrangement (DSA) and the Personal Insolvency Arrangement (PIA) provided for in the Personal Insolvency Act 2012
• consider applications for Debt Relief Notices in accordance with the Act
• process applications for Protective Certificates for DSAs and PIAs in accordance with the Act
• maintain the Registers of Debt Relief Notices, Protective Certificates, Debt Settlement Arrangements and Personal Insolvency Arrangements;
• provide information to the public on the working of the Act
• advise the Minister on any matter relating to its functions
• to authorise, supervise and regulate a person or class of persons to perform the functions of an approved intermediary
• authorise, supervise and regulate individuals to carry on practice as personal insolvency practitioners
• prepare and issue guidelines as to what constitutes a reasonable standard of living and reasonable living expenses for debtors
• arrange for the provision of such education and training, in relation to the performance by them of their functions under this Act, of approved intermediaries, personal insolvency practitioners and other persons, as it thinks fit
• contribute to the development of policy in the area of personal insolvency,
• carry out any other duties and exercise any other powers assigned to it by or under the Act such as the administration of the provisions of the reformed bankruptcy legislation , to manage the estates of bankrupt individuals with a view to realising assets for the benefit of creditors and arranging for the discharge from bankruptcy of the person concerned

The ISI's strategy for the period 2025 - 2027 is set out in its ISI Strategic Plan 2025 - 2027 and the key goals are:

• build on our achievements over the past three years to further strengthen and enhance our insolvency framework
• increase the understanding and take-up of the full range of insolvency solutions
• focus on supporting training and data driven performance enhancements to strengthen the professional standards of PIPs and AIs
• support ongoing staff capability development, implement effective ICT solutions, promote a data-driven efficiency and compliance culture and enhance internal communications.

Section 6(4) of the Regulation of Lobbying Act 2015 requires each public body to publish a list showing the name, grade and brief details of the role and responsibilities of each “Designated Public Official” of the body.

The purpose of the list is to:

• allow members of the public identify those persons who are Designated Public Officials; and
• as a resource for lobbyists filing a return to the Register who may need to source a Designated Public Official’s details.

The Designated Public Official for the ISI is Michael Mc Naughton, Director. For more information see the Register of Lobbying at www.lobbying.ie

The ISI facilitates both a Protocol Oversight Committee and Consultative Forum. These groups are comprised of a number of interested third parties.

Protocol Overview

Consultative Forum