Debate contribution: Insolvency (Monetary Limits) (Amendment) Order (Northern Ireland) 2024
Debate contribution by Mr Conor Murphy on .
- MLA
- Mr Conor Murphy
- Party at the time
- Sinn Féin
- Date
- 2 July 2024
- Type
- Debate contribution (made as a minister)
- Business
- Executive Committee Business
- Heading
- Insolvency (Monetary Limits) (Amendment) Order (Northern Ireland) 2024
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4529015
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I beg to move
I seek the Assembly's approval for the draft Insolvency (Monetary Limits) (Amendment) Order (Northern Ireland) 2024. The order increases three of the monetary limits for access to my Department's debt relief scheme. The scheme was set up in 2011 and assists some of the most vulnerable people to obtain relief from problem debt. It is based on a similar scheme that operates in England and Wales, and it is administered by my Department's Insolvency Service in partnership with debt advice charities. It gives individuals who are burdened with relatively low levels of debt and have few assets the opportunity to obtain relief from those debts. The scheme is not administered through the courts, as is the case for other insolvency procedures. Instead, application to the scheme is through an approved debt adviser working in the charitable sector. If all the eligibility conditions are met, the official receiver, who is an official in the Insolvency Service, makes a debt relief order. That order protects the individual from action by their creditors for a one-year period, at the end of which their liability to pay the debts listed in the order is fully extinguished. The scheme is not intended for those who have accumulated substantial debt, nor is it for those who possess significant assets and could afford to make payments to the creditors. Therefore, it is important that it has clearly defined monetary limits for those who wish to access it. There are three such limits provided for in the order. They are that the total amount of an individual's debts, the total value of their assets and their surplus monthly income must not exceed specified amounts. The order increases the limit on total debt from £20,000 to £50,000, the limit on total assets from £1,000 to £2,000 and the limit on surplus monthly income from £50 to £75. There is a fourth monetary limit that is not included in the order, and that limit relates to the value of a motor car owned by an individual who is seeking to access the scheme. A vehicle for domestic use is not counted as an asset if its value does not exceed a prescribed amount. As the legislation by which that amount is prescribed is enshrined in regulations that relate to court procedure, it can be amended only by the Department of Justice. Accordingly, my officials are liaising with their counterparts in that Department to make the necessary changes to the legislation. One final amendment to the scheme relates to the application fee. Until recently, anyone applying for a debt relief order had to pay a £90 fee to the Department.
While, to many, the fee will appear modest, it has proved a significant impediment to many individuals on a low income in seeking debt relief. I have therefore also approved the removal of the application fee from the Department's scheme, and that came into effect from 17 June 2024. That means that applications to the scheme can now be made completely free of charge. The increases brought about by the order and the removal of the application fee will have a significant impact on the ability of those in financial difficulties to free themselves from problem debt. The order will allow more people to access my Department's debt relief scheme, in particular those on a low income with no means of repaying their debts and who are most in need of assistance. It will allow them to make a fresh start, free from the consequences of living under a debt burden. The order that Members are being asked to approve has been agreed with the Committee for the Economy. In conclusion, I believe that it should now be approved by the Assembly.
625 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not qualifying”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.01 (qualifying needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not qualifying).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- Assessed as legitimate policy scrutiny (0.81).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- The overall probability was at or below the not-qualifying threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.02 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.01 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.01 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.01 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.02 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.81 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.01 | At or below not-qualifying threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 1.00 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-related subject | 0.98 |
| Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues | 0.02 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
| Irish language, Ulster-Scots and language policy | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 10:56 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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