The Deputy will be aware that the Central Bank publishes mortgage arrears, restructures and repossession statistics on a quarterly basis. The latest publication was published in November 2013 and showed data to the end of September 2013. The Central Bank has informed me that statistical information received by the Central Bank as part of its ESCB (European System of Central Banks) functions is subject to a sanctions regime provided for under European law (for example, Council Regulation 2532/98 and ECB Regulation 2157/1999). In relation to information obtained by the Central Bank under Irish financial services legislation, reporting institutions are subject to the enforcement powers provided to the Central Bank under the Central Bank Act 1942, as amended.
The Central Bank has informed me that it is committed to the quality criteria outlined in the ECB Public Commitment on European Statistics[1] for all statistics published, including the Residential Mortgage Arrears and Repossessions Statistics. The Mortgage Arrears return was developed following individual and collective discussions with reporting institutions and agreement on definitions and coverage. The Central Bank has informed me that data is not audited independently, but the Central Bank undertakes extensive validation and consistency checks.
[1] The Public Commitment largely mirrors quality criteria used by National Statistical Institutes (including CSO) for publication of official statistics.
