Solicitors Accounts (Amendment) Regulations, 2013.
Statutory Instruments
Source: Statutory Instruments

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paragraphs: (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Solicitors Accounts (Amendment) Regulations, 2013.
(2) These Regulations shall be construed together with and in accordance with the Solicitors Accounts Regulations 2001 ( S.I. No. 421 of 2001 ) as amended by the Solicitors Accounts (Amendment) Regulations, 2005 ( S.I. No. 719 of 2005 ) as further amended by the Solicitors Accounts (Amendment) Regulations, 2006 ( S.I. No. 111 of 2006 ) and with the provisions of section 66 (as substituted by section 76 of the Solicitors (Amendment) Act 1994 ) of the Solicitors Act, 1954 .
(3) These Regulations shall come into operation on 1st day of January 2014.
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paragraphs: In these Regulations—
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paragraphs: (1) Regulation 2 of the Principal Regulations is amended as follows—
(a) in the definition of “accounting records” by inserting “(including, where applicable, as a personal insolvency practitioner)” after “kept by a solicitor arising from his or her practice as a solicitor”;
(b) by inserting the following definition before the definition of ‘Acts’:
“’Act of 2012’ means the Personal Insolvency Act, 2012 (No. 44 of 2012)”;
(c) in the definition of “client” by inserting “and the debtor under an insolvency arrangement” after “and includes a beneficiary to an estate under a will, intestacy or trust”;
(d) in the definition of “client matter” by inserting “or to an insolvency arrangement” after “or to a controlled trust or non-controlled trust”;
(e) in the definition of “clients’ ledger account” by inserting—
(i)“or insolvency arrangement account” after “or non-controlled trust account”; and
(ii)“or insolvency arrangement” after “or controlled trust or non-controlled trust”;
(f) in the definition of “clients’ moneys” by inserting the following after 2(1)(iv):
“(v) moneys held or controlled by a solicitor in accordance with an insolvency arrangement”;
(g) by inserting the following definitions before the definition of “documents”:
“debt settlement arrangement’ has the meaning given in the Act of 2012”; and
“debtor” means, in relation to an insolvency arrangement, the debtor who has entered into that insolvency arrangement”;
(h) by inserting the following definitions before the definition of “legal services”:
“insolvency arrangement” means a debt settlement arrangement or a personal insolvency arrangement;
“insolvency arrangement account” means an account (whether a current bank account or a deposit bank account) opened and kept by a personal insolvency practitioner at a bank, which account is used solely for the purposes of receiving payments from a debtor and transmitting such payments to creditors (after the deduction of any fees, costs and outlays payable to the personal insolvency practitioner permitted to be made under the Act of 2012, these Regulations and the insolvency arrangement) and in the title of which account the words “insolvency arrangement” appears or which is otherwise clearly designated as an insolvency arrangement account; provided that a reference in these Regulations to “an insolvency arrangement account” or “the insolvency arrangement account” or “insolvency arrangement account” shall, unless the particular circumstances or the context (or both) otherwise require or requires, refer to the totality of insolvency arrangement accounts opened and kept by the personal insolvency practitioner;
“insolvency arrangement moneys” means moneys received, held or controlled by a personal insolvency practitioner which are subject to an insolvency arrangement in respect of which he is acting as the personal insolvency practitioner”;
(i) by inserting the following definitions before the definition of “practice year”:
“personal insolvency arrangement” has the meaning given in the Act of 2012; and
“personal insolvency practitioner” means a solicitor who is authorised in accordance with the Act of 2012 to carry on the practice of a personal insolvency practitioner”.
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paragraphs: Regulation 3(1) of the Principal Regulations is hereby amended by inserting “and shall, for the avoidance of doubt, apply to all solicitors carrying on practice as a personal insolvency practitioner as defined in the Act of 2012” after “whether as a sole practitioner or as a partner in a firm of solicitors”.
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paragraphs: Regulation 6(1) of the Principal Regulations is hereby amended—
(i) by inserting “(but not including insolvency arrangement moneys)” after “and/or other moneys”; and
(ii) by inserting the following after Regulation 6(1):
“(1A) Where a solicitor receives insolvency arrangement moneys co-mingled with other moneys, a solicitor shall not pay or lodge the insolvency arrangement moneys into an account other than an insolvency arrangement account. For the avoidance of doubt, it shall be a breach of these Regulations for insolvency arrangement moneys to be co-mingled with those of the personal insolvency practitioner or with those of any other person.”
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paragraphs: (1) The following is hereby inserted in Regulation 12 after Regulation 12(5):
“12.(5A) Without prejudice to the generality of clause (1) of this Regulation, and of Part III(C) (relating to insolvency arrangements) a personal insolvency practitioner shall, as appropriate, record his or her transactions with insolvency arrangement moneys in the same way as is provided for in subclauses (a) and (b) of clause (4) of this Regulation in respect of clients moneys.”
(2) Regulation 12(6) of the Principal Regulations is hereby amended by inserting “and other than insolvency arrangement moneys)” after “and other than controlled trust moneys or non-controlled trust moneys.”
(3) Regulation 12(7)(a)(i) of the Principal Regulations is hereby amended by inserting “or insolvency arrangement moneys” after “in respect of controlled trust moneys or non-controlled trust moneys.”
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paragraphs: The following is hereby inserted in Regulation 19 after “Part III(B) — NON CONTROLLED TRUSTS”:
“PART III (C) — INSOLVENCY ARRANGEMENTS
General duty to pay insolvency arrangement monies into insolvency arrangement account
19A.A personal insolvency practitioner, who receives, holds or controls insolvency arrangement moneys, shall, without delay, pay such insolvency arrangement moneys into an insolvency arrangement account opened and maintained solely for the insolvency arrangement concerned.
Moneys to be paid into insolvency arrangement account
19B.(1) Subject to clause (2) of this Regulation, a personal insolvency practitioner shall pay into an insolvency arrangement account such moneys as are:
(a) insolvency arrangement moneys received from or on behalf of the relevant debtor in respect of payments due under the insolvency arrangement; or
(b) refunds from a creditor, the personal insolvency practitioner or, as applicable, the bank for the credit of the relevant debtor, in order to correct any error in making the payments referred to at Regulation 19C(1)(a), 19C(1)(b), 19C(1)(c), 19C(1)(d) and in reversing the payments referred to at 19C(1)(e); or
(c) moneys which represent interest on insolvency arrangement moneys.
(2) A personal insolvency practitioner shall not hold moneys to which the personal insolvency practitioner is beneficially entitled in an insolvency arrangement account for longer than three months.
(3) No moneys, other than moneys which, as provided for in this Regulation or Regulation 19A, a personal insolvency practitioner is required or permitted to pay into an insolvency arrangement account, shall be paid into an insolvency arrangement account; and, where moneys are for any reason wrongly so paid, the personal insolvency practitioner shall, immediately on becoming aware of that fact, transfer the amount of such moneys to the account into which such moneys should have been paid in the first instance.
(4) For the avoidance of doubt, it shall be a breach of these Regulations:
(a) for a personal insolvency practitioner, having received insolvency arrangement moneys, to fail, without reasonable cause, to pay such insolvency arrangement moneys to the appropriate insolvency arrangement account(s); and
(b) for a personal insolvency practitioner, having received insolvency arrangement moneys, to fail, without reasonable cause, to record such receipt in his or her accounting records.
Withdrawals from insolvency arrangement account
19C.(1) A personal insolvency practitioner may withdraw from an insolvency arrangement account:—
(a) moneys properly required for the payment on behalf of the debtor to a creditor according to his or her entitlement under the insolvency arrangement;
(b) moneys properly required for or towards payment of an amount due to the personal insolvency practitioner under the Act of 2012 and Regulations made pursuant to the Act of 2012 and in accordance with the insolvency arrangement in respect of outlays actually disbursed by the personal insolvency practitioner on behalf of that debtor in the course of the provision of legal services to the debtor for which the personal insolvency practitioner has adequate documentary proof that the moneys are properly due at the time of withdrawal;
(c) moneys properly available to be applied by the personal insolvency practitioner in satisfaction (in whole or in part) of professional fees payable under the Act of 2012 and Regulations made pursuant to the Act of 2012 and in accordance with the insolvency arrangement where it has been made clear to such debtor that such moneys held by the personal insolvency practitioner are being or will be applied by the personal insolvency practitioner in satisfaction (in whole or in part) of such professional fees; provided that such moneys shall be transferred in a timely manner from the insolvency arrangement account to office account;
(d) bank charges, where appropriate; and
(e) moneys that have been transferred into the insolvency arrangement account in error for which the personal insolvency practitioner has adequate documentary proof demonstrating such error.
(2) The provisions of Regulation 8 (relating to the manner of withdrawal from client account) shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to the manner of withdrawal from a insolvency arrangement account.
(3) A personal insolvency practitioner shall not withdraw moneys from an insolvency arrangement account, other than moneys permitted by and in accordance with clause (1) of this Regulation.
Duty of personal insolvency practitioner to maintain accounting records
19D.A personal insolvency practitioner shall at all times maintain and keep such accounting records and other documents as shall be appropriate:
(i) to show separately in respect of each insolvency arrangement all his or her transactions with insolvency arrangement moneys received, held, controlled or paid by him or her on behalf of each such insolvency arrangement; and
(ii) to distinguish insolvency arrangement moneys from all other moneys received, held, controlled or paid by him or her on any other account.”
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paragraphs: Regulation 20 of the Principal Regulations is hereby amended by inserting:
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paragraphs: (1) Regulation 22(1) of the Principal Regulations is hereby amended by inserting:
“or insolvency arrangement account” after “non-controlled trust account”.
(2) Regulation 22(3)(Step ct1) of the Principal Regulations is hereby amended by inserting:
“and insolvency arrangement” after non-controlled trust”; and
“and insolvency arrangement account” after “non-controlled trust account”.
(3) Regulation 22(3)(Step ct2) of the Principal Regulations is hereby amended by inserting “and insolvency arrangement account” after “non-controlled trust account”.
(4) Regulation 22(4)(b) of the Principal Regulations is hereby amended by inserting:
“or insolvency arrangements” after “or non-controlled trusts”.
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paragraphs: Regulation 25(1)(d) of the Principal Regulations is hereby amended by inserting:
“or insolvency arrangement moneys” after “controlled trust moneys”.
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paragraphs: Regulation 29 of the Principal Regulations is hereby amended by inserting:
“insolvency arrangement moneys” after “non-controlled trust moneys”;
“specified insolvency arrangement or insolvency arrangements” after “specified non-controlled trust or non-controlled trusts”;
“insolvency arrangement” after “non-controlled trust arrangement”;
“insolvency arrangements” after “non-controlled trust arrangements”; and
“personal insolvency practitioner” after “non-controlling trustee”.
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paragraphs: Regulation 32 of the Principal Regulations is hereby amended by inserting “insolvency arrangement account” after “non-controlled trust account”.