As the Deputy is aware, the Government has put in place a broad strategy to address the problem of mortgage arrears and family home repossessions.
This has included an extensive suite of interventions designed to address the problem including specific Central Bank targets for the banks through the Mortgage Arrears Resolution Targets (MART), the Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears, extensive recasting of the personal insolvency legislation, the provision of advice through Department of Social Protection-led initiatives and the mortgage to rent scheme which is designed to assist borrowers in an unsustainable mortgage position to remain in their homes through the involvement of social housing agencies.
With respect to the setting of Mortgage Arrears Resolution Targets, I am informed by the Central Bank (CBI) that it set further targets for the six main banks for Quarters 3 and 4 of 2014. The CBI continues to monitor banks' progress regarding MART requirements, most notably through: intensive ongoing supervisory engagement; audits; on-site reviews of operations and compliance with the Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears (CCMA); and ongoing monitoring of performance. The CBI has reported that the banks continue to meet or exceed the targets set for them.
As the Deputy is aware, the key issue is engagement The completion of affordability assessments is a key step in the Mortgage Arrears Resolution Process. In this regard a lender must examine each case on its individual merits and must base its assessment on the full circumstances of the borrower, including their personal circumstances, level of overall indebtedness, completeness and accuracy of information in their standard financial statement (SFS), their current repayment capacity and previous repayment history. The latest figures demonstrate that some 115,000 mortgages on family homes have been restructured with the vast majority of the borrowers able to adhere to the new arrangements and stay in their homes.
