Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 8 April 2014
123. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to statistics per lender to indicate the number of lenders that have accepted the mediation process offered by the Financial Services Ombudsman when agreed by customers in mortgage arrears; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16346/14]
View answerFirstly, I must point out that the Financial Services Ombudsman is independent in the performance of his statutory functions. It would not be appropriate for me to comment on how he performs his duties.
I have been advised by the Financial Services Ombudsman that in respect of all cases the Financial Services Ombudsman's Bureau offers mediation to the Complainant and the Provider.
On the issue more generally, both parties to the complaint must be willing and elect to participate in mediation before mediation can take place. If one of the parties wants to mediate the complaint and the other does not, then no mediation will take place and the matter will proceed to investigation and adjudication.
In 2013 no mediations took place in relation to Mortgage Arrears.
