Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 17 January 2017
244. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Finance the action he can take to discourage family home repossessions where the borrowers have made and continue to make reasonable efforts to meet their repayments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41555/16]
View answerThe Deputy will be aware from previous PQ responses that the Government attaches great importance to the resolution of mortgage arrears and wants to keep families in their homes and avoid repossessions insofar as possible. He will also be aware of the recent establishment of the Abhaile mortgage arrears resolution service to ensure that those either in mortgage arrears or at risk of going into mortgage arrears on their primary residence are able to access State-funded professional legal or financial advice on their resolution options.
The Deputy will also know that the Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears (CCMA) sets out statutory requirements for mortgage lenders and credit servicing firms dealing with borrowers in or facing arrears on the mortgage loan secured by their primary residence.
Lenders may only commence legal proceedings for repossession of the borrower's primary residence after it follows a number of steps. The steps include:
- Making every reasonable effort under the CCMA to agree an alternative restructure arrangement (ARA) with the borrower;
- time bound requirements to inform the borrower the regulated entity is not willing to offer an ARSA and of his/her options;
- time bound requirements to inform a borrower, who is not willing to enter into an ARA, of his/her options; and
- a decision to classify the borrower as non-cooperating.
I am informed by the Central Bank that there is a broad range of available restructures offered and delivered by both bank and non-bank entities and there is strong evidence that both banks and non-banks look to exhaust available restructure options before moving to the legal process.
In conclusion I would draw the Deputy's attention to Mortgage Arrears and Restructures Data released by the Central Bank on 12 December, which shows that to end-Q3 2016, the number of mortgage accounts in arrears for principal dwelling houses (PDH) has declined for the last thirteen quarters. Some 121,140 PDH accounts were also classified as restructured, of which some 88 per cent were reported to be meeting the terms of their arrangement. It is clear that where a borrower actively engages with their lender it is more likely that an equitable arrangement will be found and that the borrower will be able to remain in their family home.
