At the statutory sitting (held within 3 weeks of bankruptcy) 60% (in number and value) of the creditors can decide to appoint a private sector person as a trustee in bankruptcy. If such a trustee is appointed, it is possible for the bankrupt to be discharged as soon as all of the assets are realised and dividends paid. It could be theoretically possible to be discharged within, say, 9 months.
In practice, such appointments are rare, due to the extra costs involved. The Official Assignee dos not receive a fee for his services (granted, duty on realisations has to be paid, but these would also have to be paid in a trusteeship.) whilst a trustee would seek payment for his services. The legal costs would also be very significant in a trusteeship. The Official Assignee and his team are, obviously, very experienced in bankruptcies and they are capable of drafting their own motions before the High Court etc.
In practice, the only reason why creditors would seek to appoint their own trustee was where they felt the bankruptcy was particularly complex and that better realisations would be achieved with a private sector trustee. For example, the banks tried to appoint a private sector trustee in the Sean Fitzpatrick case, but were unsuccessful as they could not obtain 60% in number of the creditors to vote in favour.
Given that the Official Assignee has established a panel of expert forensic accountants to assist him with complex cases, it is generally felt that he is well able to take on complex cases.
Jim Stafford