Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 20 September 2023
161. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Finance if he will outline any measures which will be included in budget 2024 to assist mortgage holders whose accounts are currently with vulture funds and who are paying extremely high interest rates; and to outline what plans his Department has to assist these mortgage holders in being allowed to move their mortgage accounts to other lenders and to avail of fixed-rate mortgages. [40192/23]
View answerThe Government is acutely aware of the challenges rising interest rates, and the cost of living more generally, are having for some mortgage holders. In that context, I recently met with banks and other mortgage creditors and made it clear to them that they need to be aware of these difficulties for their customers. I also indicated that all credit providers should be open to considering applications for new mortgages from all credit worthy borrowers, including any borrower whose mortgage is currently serviced by a credit servicing firm or other regulated entity who does not provide new credit.
Arising from that meeting, the mortgage industry has now outlined a number of further measures to assist their customers at this time, including:-
• a second phase of a ‘Dealing With Debt’ campaign to highlight new and existing supports for concerned mortgage customers;
• mortgage servicing firms and MABS to collaborate on an expansion of streamlined customer engagement framework; and
• initial eligibility criteria by the main lenders to provide clear guidelines for home mortgage customers of credit servicing firms who are seeking to switch their mortgage.
Credit servicing firms have committed to working with these criteria to support their customers and to ensure they are aware that they may have options to switch their mortgage. Also the main mortgage broker representative bodies have agreed to communicate these criteria to borrowers seeking to switch their home loans.
In addition, my Department is also running a programme of work with the ESRI to promote greater switching activity more generally by consumers.
It is important in the current environment that borrowers who are able and who want to switch mortgage provider are supported, but it is also the case that there is an obligation on credit providers to assesses the creditworthiness of all mortgage applicants and that the final decision on whether or not to provide credit in any particular case is and remains a business and commercial matter for the boards and management of individual lenders.
Regulated firms are also keeping the range of supports they have available for their customers in or facing mortgage arrears under review and additional alternative repayment arrangements, including a fixed interest rate option, are now coming on stream from non-banks.
The consumer protection framework to assist mortgage borrowers in genuine difficulty is strong and I would encourage anyone experiencing difficulty to reach out and contact their mortgage creditor. The services of MABS, and in particular the ‘Abhaile’ service, will also be available to mortgage holders.
In relation to measures for mortgage holders in Budget 2024, as the Deputy is aware all additional expenditure and taxation proposals will fall to be considered by Government in the context of the agreed available resources. This will be the most appropriate time to decide how the available resources can best be deployed to support different groups in our society.
