13 Márta 2013, 16:26
The Chairman of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform Ciaran Lynch TD has this afternoon welcomed the announcement by Government setting out a strategy for the Irish banking sector to deal with mortgage holders in financial difficulty.
13 March 2013
Deputy Lynch says: “The proposals announced this afternoon by Minister for Finance Michael Noonan TD and Financial Regulator Matthew Elderfield reflect the programme of work carried out by our Committee in the past number of months on the fragile state of individual Irish banks and the banking sector in general. The realistic and measurable targets laid out in the statement on mortgage arrears are to be welcomed. Our Committee devoted particular attention to how the banks have been responding to mortgage holders in financial difficulty. The statement this afternoon sets out a workable pathway towards addressing this crisis, applying a requirement for the banks to both propose solutions and, more importantly, to responsibly conclude solutions for households in distress.
The programme also requires the banks to distinguish between households for which short-term forbearance measures such as an interest-only arrangement might be required, and those households in longer term difficulty which require technical solutions such as split mortgages, mortgages to rent and, on a case by case basis, along with debt restructuring and debt write-downfield required.”
“As a Committee, we intend to monitor closely and carefully how these targets are met in the coming months. We will maintain the lines of communications with all relevant parties in this initiative, who will be invited to engage with us in public for progress updates at appropriate stages. As committee chairperson I intend to write in the coming days to the Minister for Finance, the Financial Regulator, the Governor of the Central Bank, the Director of the newly established Personal Insolvency Service as well as the financial institutions that fall under the plan informing them that they will be invited to appear before the Committee to provide it with up to date progress reports in terms of meeting their targets.
\"A properly functioning banking system which pragmatically works through difficulties with mortgage holders in distress is vital for economic recovery and our Committee stands ready to assist in ensuring the objectives outlined this afternoon are met.”
For further information contact:
Paul Hand,
Houses of the Oireachtas,
Communications Unit,
Leinster House,
Dublin 2
P: +353 1 618 4484
M: +353 87 694 9926
Committee Membership
Deputies
Richard Boyd-Barrett, People Before Profit
Michael Creed, Fine Gael
Pearse Doherty, Sinn Fein
Stephen Donnelly, Independent
Sean Fleming, Fianna Fáil
Joe Higgins, Socialist Party
Heather Humphreys, Fine Gael
Kevin Humphreys, Labour Party
Peter Mathews, Fine Gael
Mary Lou McDonald, Sinn Fein
Ciarán Lynch, Labour Party (Chairman)
Michael McGrath, Fianna Fáil
Dara Murphy, Fine Gael
Timmy Dooley, Fianna Fáil
Kieran O’Donnell, Fine Gael
Arthur Spring, Labour Party
Brian Stanley, Sinn Féin
Billy Timmins, Fine Gael
Liam Twomey, Fine Gael
Simon Harris, Fine Gael
Aodhán Ó'Ríordáin, Labour Party
Senators
Sean D Barrett
Thomas Byrne
Paul Coghlan
Michael D’Arcy
Aideen Hayden
Tom Sheahan