Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

That is very reasonable of Deputy Fleming and I will try to be brief. The purpose of the legislation is to restore borrowers to the position they were in prior to the sale of their loan book. While we welcome the thrust of the Deputy's amendments, which seek to ensure that the Central Bank codes will continue to apply when loan books are sold, we are not in a position to accept the amendments. I am pleased to inform the Deputy that the activity of all credit servicing will become regulated under the Bill and therefore all relevant Central Bank codes will apply, including the consumer protection code and the code of conduct on mortgage arrears. We therefore do not consider it necessary to include the amendments.

In addition, I hope the Deputy will agree that it would not be appropriate to refer to specific Central Bank codes in primary legislation because, as we know, the bank could issue a new or updated code while the reference could only be changed by primary legislation.