Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 4 February 2015
58. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Finance the extent to which he and his Department continues to monitor the situation in regard to mortgage arrears, with particular reference to the need to ensure that home owners who have fallen into arrears, through no fault of their own, are not unfairly treated; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5167/15]
View answerThe Government's Strategy to address the problem of mortgage arrears is overseen by the Construction 2020, Housing Planning and Mortgage Arrears Cabinet sub-committee, chaired by the Taoiseach. The strategy was formulated in response to the recommendations of the Keane Report (2011) and the main elements of it are:
- Engagement with the banks to develop appropriate measures for their customers in mortgage arrears;
- Personal insolvency law reform and implementation;
- Mortgage to rent; and
- A Mortgage Advisory function.
The Strategy is working as evidenced by the monthly improvements in the mortgage restructures data collected by my Department officials. The situation at end November shows that total mortgage accounts in arrears (all arrears 1 day past due) now stand at 91,963. The number of Principal Dwelling Home accounts in arrears of greater than 90 days and not restructured has fallen by almost 27% at end of November 2014 when compared to the state of play at end of August 2013. During November 2014 there was an increase of 2,551 permanent mortgage restructures over the previous month. The number of mortgage accounts in arrears of greater than 90 days continues to fall, decreasing by 1,879 to 64,196 accounts at the end of November 2014.
Additionally, 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 on their primary residence. 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. The CCMA includes an appeals process which enables a dissatisfied borrower to request that their case be examined by senior personnel who were not previously involved in the case.
Monitoring compliance with the CCMA continues to be an important part of the Central Bank's work programme and I have been informed that the Central Bank commenced a themed inspection of compliance with the CCMA in Q4 2014. The scope of the themed inspection includes on-site inspections of a number of regulated mortgage lenders to examine the processes and controls relating to compliance with certain provisions of the CCMA.
