Under the Statute of Limitations 1957 a simple contract debt generally carries a six-year limitation period, and an obligation under seal generally twelve. Most creditors know that much. Far fewer know that the clock rarely starts on the date of the invoice.
Where the Clock Actually Starts
Time runs from the date the cause of action accrued — broadly, when the debt became due and payable and you could first have sued. Where your terms of trade allow thirty days for payment, the cause of action generally accrues when that period expires rather than when the invoice issued, which quietly gives you a month more than you thought. Where a debt is payable on demand, the position can differ depending on the nature of the obligation. Where there is a running account, or payments have been made and allocated across several invoices, the analysis becomes genuinely technical and is not something to work out on the back of a statement. The practical point is that a few weeks can be the difference between a claim and a barred debt, so this is a fact to establish precisely rather than approximately. It is also worth checking the form of the underlying document before assuming six years: guarantees and security documents are frequently executed under seal, and a debt that looks long dead on a six-year analysis may be comfortably within a twelve-year one.
The Two Traps
First: only issuing proceedings stops the clock. Not a letter of demand. Not instructing a solicitor. Not negotiating in good faith for eight months while the debtor is being constructive and everyone is behaving reasonably. That is precisely how creditors lose claims — the date passes during the correspondence, and there is no general discretion to extend a limitation period because the parties were talking. If a deadline may be approaching, issue to protect the position and continue negotiating afterwards; the two are entirely compatible. Second, and more often decisive: the clock can restart. A written acknowledgment of the debt signed by the debtor, or a part payment on account, can cause the period to run afresh from that date. So before writing off an old ledger, look for an email in which the debtor accepted the balance or a payment they made two years ago — either may mean you have far more time than you assumed. That rule is worth a page of its own, and the full explanation is here.
If a debt is anywhere near the four-to-six year range, treat it as urgent. The accrual date is fact-sensitive, the acknowledgment rules are technical, and the consequence of getting it wrong is not a worse outcome but no claim at all.
Not sure where you stand? The free limitation checker, or 01 5827148.
Richard O’Shea — Solicitor
Solicitor at Mary Molloy Solicitors, established 1981, with offices at The Ormond Building on Ormond Quay — a short walk from the Four Courts. The firm advises creditors on recovery and enforcement, and, in separate matters, advises debtors who have received demands or proceedings. It is a law firm and not a debt collection agency: fees are agreed in writing at the outset and are never calculated as a percentage or proportion of what is recovered. 01 5827148 · richardoshea@marymolloysolicitors.com · LinkedIn
General information, not legal advice. This website contains general information about Irish law on debt recovery and enforcement. It is not legal advice and does not create a solicitor—client relationship. Every debt turns on its own facts — the documents, the dates, the parties and the debtor’s circumstances — and advice on yours requires a consultation. Statutory thresholds and figures referred to on this site are subject to change and should be confirmed before any step is taken.
A law firm, not a debt collection agency. Mary Molloy Solicitors provides legal advice and representation. It does not operate as a debt collection agency and does not conduct collection campaigns. Fees are agreed in writing with the client at the outset and are never calculated as a percentage or proportion of any sum recovered. In contentious business, a solicitor may not calculate fees or other charges as a percentage or proportion of any award or settlement.
No outcome is promised. Nothing on this site states or implies that any debt will be recovered, that any asset will be found, that any enforcement step will succeed, or that any claim will succeed. Recovery depends substantially on the debtor’s means, which are frequently unknown at the outset.
How payment may be demanded is regulated. Section 11 of the Consumer Credit Act 1995 makes it an offence to make a demand for payment by means calculated to cause alarm, distress or humiliation, or falsely to represent that legal proceedings have been or will be issued. Nothing on this site should be read as encouraging any such conduct. Mortgage arrears on a principal private residence are dealt with under a separate regulatory framework and are outside the scope of this site.
If you are the person being pursued. Free, confidential and independent money advice is available in Ireland from MABS, the Money Advice and Budgeting Service, and through the Abhaile scheme for people in mortgage arrears. You do not have to engage a solicitor to get help, and taking advice early generally improves the options available. This firm advises debtors in matters separate from those in which it acts for a creditor, and never both sides of the same debt — conflicts are checked before any substantive discussion.
Tax. Nothing on this website is tax advice. Questions about VAT on recovered sums, bad debt relief or the treatment of write-offs belong with your accountant or tax adviser and with Revenue’s own guidance.