Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 20 March 2018
95. Deputy Eugene Murphy asked the Minister for Finance the reason a person's minimum required pension contributions are not taken into account as an expense when calculating the ability to pay of a person in mortgage arrears; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12556/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraI refer the Deputy to the relevant parts of Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears (CCMA) and the Standard Financial Statement (SFS):
The Central Bank’s Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears (CCMA) applies to all regulated mortgage lenders and credit servicing firms operating in the State when 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 way by their lender and that long term resolution is sought by lenders with each of their borrowers. It sets out a process, called the Mortgage Arrears Resolution Process (MARP).
The MARP is a four-step process which lenders must follow:
Step 1: Communicate with the borrower
Step 2: Gather financial information
Step 3: Assess the borrower’s circumstances
Step 4: Propose a resolution
As part of step 2 of MARP, a lender must use the prescribed standard financial statement (the SFS) to obtain financial information from a borrower in arrears or pre-arrears, including information in relation to net monthly salary (in section B) and pension contribution (in section C). The lender must provide the borrower with the SFS at the earliest possible opportunity and offer to assist the borrower with completing the SFS.
The completion of affordability assessments is a key step in the MARP (MARP) (Step 3). In this regard a lender must examine each case on its individual merits and it must base its assessment on the full circumstances of the borrower, including, inter alia, the information provided in the SFS.
