31 Márta 2014, 14:25
Sustainable, long-term solutions to the mortgage crisis and measures to ease the burden on struggling homeowners and distressed borrowers will be on the agenda of the Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform this week when it meets with Director of the Insolvency Service, as well as organisations representing perspectives of mortgage-holders.
Committee Chairman Ciarán Lynch said: “This week we will start our series of hearings on mortgage arrears and the resolution process to deal with the issue of arrears by providing long-term solutions. According to the latest figures released by the Central Bank, the numbers of homeowners in mortgage arrears of over three months has fallen for the first time in almost five years. However, those figures mask a very worrying trend in long term arrears whereby those behind in repayments by more than two years has risen. Behind these statistics are real people struggling to make ends meet. Starting on Wednesday, we will hear from a number of organisations dealing with people in mortgage arrears. It is an opportunity to be updated by frontline groups helping people in financial difficulties and for members to raise any issues or concerns they may have on the resolution of mortgage problems. Next week we will meet with executives from the four covered banks on the issue where members will have a chance to examine how they are meeting their targets to provide sustainable, long-term solutions for homeowners in arrears and that there is a consistency of approach in dealing with distressed borrowers. The Committee will also want to hear from the banks about how they are handling new mortgage loan applications. We will finish this round of hearings after Easter with a meeting with the Governor of the Central Bank.”
The schedule for next week’s meetings is:
Wednesday 2nd April 2014
Session I: 2.00 pm - 3.45 pm
Irish Mortgage Holders Organisation
MABS
FLAC
Session II: 4.00 pm - 6.00 pm
Askaboutmoney
Phoenix Project Ireland
New Beginning
Thursday 3rd April
10.00 am Lorcan O'Connor, Insolvency Service of Ireland
The Schedule for next is:
8th April Ulster Bank
9th April Permanent TSB & AIB
10th April Bank of Ireland
Committee proceedings can be followed live here.
Committee proceedings can also be viewed on the move, through the Houses of the Oireachtas Smartphone App, available for Apple and Android devices.
Media Enquiries to:
Ciaran Brennan,
Houses of the Oireachtas,
Communications Unit,
Leinster House,
Dublin 2
P: +3531 618 3903
M: 086-0496518
F: +3531 618 4551
Committee Membership
Deputies
Richard Boyd-Barrett, People Before Profit
Michael Creed, Fine Gael
Pearse Doherty, Sinn Fein
Regina Doherty, Fine Gael
Stephen Donnelly, Independent
Timmy Dooley, Fianna Fáil
Alan Farrell, Fine Gael
Sean Fleming, Fianna Fáil
Simon Harris, Fine Gael
Joe Higgins, Socialist Party
Heather Humphreys, Fine Gael
Kevin Humphreys, Labour Party
Mary Lou McDonald, Sinn Fein
Ciarán Lynch, Labour Party (Chairman)
Michael McGrath, Fianna Fáil
Dara Murphy, Fine Gael
Kieran O’Donnell, Fine Gael
Aodhán O Ríordáin, Labour
Arthur Spring, Labour Party
Brian Stanley, Sinn Féin
Liam Twomey, Fine Gael
Senators
Sean D Barrett
Thomas Byrne
Paul Coghlan
Michael D’Arcy
Aideen Hayden
Tom Sheahan