Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The issue does not arise under this legislation we are discussing today which enables transfers to be made to banks which are regulated and which will be fully compliant with the CCMA. The Deputy is returning to a previous wider debate. I cannot today give the Deputy a date for publication of the legislation which is being prepared. I said last week that the heads of the Bill have been forwarded to the Central Bank for observations and we need to have them legally proofed in the Office of the Attorney General. It is only at that stage that we can move on to drafting the Bill.

I will have a better idea in the next couple of weeks of the time line we have in mind. I want to give that legislation priority. While the voluntary commitments made by the purchasers of loan books were very important and valuable to those persons who had mortgages, they do not have the force of law underpinning them which is what I want so that all mortgage-holders would be able to avail of the same code of conduct and that the enforcing agent would be the Central Bank. I will keep the Deputy informed as to when the legislation will be ready but he can take it that it will be a lot sooner than 2015.