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Skills learned by entrepreneurs who have failed businesses should not be lost to society and Irish draconian bankruptcy laws are stopping economic recovery.

Many people today are finding themselves in extreme financial difficulty but entrepreneurial enterprise skills learned by those who have failed businesses should not be lost to society because it is only through their type of investment that we will create employment again and get back to a situation whereby this economy can deliver what is needed for the people of the country.

I believe the laws relating to bankruptcy should be changed. They’re draconian. They were developed at a time when we didn’t have such high debt and so many people in such difficult credit situations.

We see the number of bankruptcies rising and people, who in better times started a business and took risks, now find that their business is not viable. But unfortunately our bankruptcy laws are so draconian in this country that it means they could potentially find themselves unable to hold down a job or a bank account for up to 12 years.

There are other more innovative methods such as a voluntary agreement between the debtors and the creditors. We should also reduce the amount of time people will be in a bankrupt situation if we are to encourage enterprise and entrepreneurs to get doing again and start in business.”