Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 17 July 2014
182. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the proportion of residential mortgage holders in arrears of longer than 90 days in which one or both parties to the mortgage are classified as unemployed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32692/14]
View answerIn relation to the proportion of borrowers in mortgage arrears in which one or both parties are classified as unemployed, I am advised by the Central Bank that it does not publish information on this basis. The Central Bank's Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears (CCMA) sets out requirements for mortgage lenders dealing with borrowers facing or in mortgage arrears. The CCMA provides a strong consumer protection framework to ensure that borrowers struggling to keep up mortgage repayments are treated in a fair and transparent manner by their lender, and that long term resolution is sought by lenders with each of their borrowers in genuine mortgage difficulty.
The Central Bank's latest 'Residential Mortgage Arrears and Repossessions Statistics' publication for the end of Q1 2014 (http://www.centralbank.ie/press-area/press-releases/Pages/ResidentialMortgageArrearsandRepossessionsStatisticsQ12014.aspx), shows that the number of mortgage accounts for principal dwelling houses (PDH) in arrears, fell for the third consecutive quarter and at the end of March 2014, 93,106 (12.2 per cent) primary dwelling mortgage accounts were more than 90 days in arrears, representing a decline of 3.5% over the quarter.
Separately from Central Bank quarterly reports, a monthly reporting regime on mortgage restructures and arrears for the six main banks covered by the Central Bank's Mortgage Arrears Resolution Targets (MART) has been put in place by my Department. The latest publication, with data to the end of May, shows that the number of PDH mortgage accounts in arrears of greater than 90 days has fallen by 4,716 accounts when compared to the end of Q1 2014 while the total number of PDH mortgage arrears has fallen by 5,108 accounts in the same period.
The data published by my Department, as well as the Central Bank data, would appear to demonstrate some success by the lenders in addressing the accounts in mortgage arrears as well as measures to prevent borrowers from going into arrears. However, increased engagement in this area by the financial institutions will be necessary to address the situation of those remaining householders facing difficulties in meeting their mortgage commitments.
