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

The Central Bank has advised me that it does not publish a geographical breakdown of its quarterly mortgage arrears statistics, nor does it publish data on the level of mortgage arrears outside of the State. The Government is very aware of the significant difficulties some home owners are facing in meeting their mortgage obligations and it has put in place a comprehensive strategy to address the arrears problem with the objective of, where possible, to allow people remain in their home.

A key element in this is real and effective engagement by lenders with their mortgage customers in arrears. As the Deputy will be aware, last week the Central Bank announced new measures to require the main banks to offer and conclude sustainable solutions tailored to individual cases. The range of solutions that can be deployed include the standard forbearance arrangements that are already used but can also extend to the more in depth restructuring arrangements as suggested in the Keane report. The Central Bank has set out specific performance targets for the number of durable solutions to be proposed by banks and will over time set targets for the conclusion and durability of such arrangements. This is a very important and necessary development in the ongoing engagement the Central Bank has with banks on their mortgage arrears resolution strategies.

It has to be accepted, however, that it will not be possible in all cases for people with the most distressed mortgages to retain an ownership interest in their home. This will not necessarily mean they will have to leave the home. The mortgage to rent scheme is available to assist families who would be eligible for social housing, and whose house is suitable for that purpose, to remain in their home. However, to be eligible for this the borrower would have to be in close contact with the lender under the mortgage arrears resolution process and his or her mortgage would have to be deemed to have been unsustainable in that process.

Personal insolvency reform was also identified by the Keane report as a key measure in addressing the mortgage arrears problem. The new Personal Insolvency Act has been put in place. In the context of the personal insolvency arrangement framework, which is the specific framework put in place by that Act to deal with unsustainable secured debt, there are certain criteria and factors that will have to be taken into account when the principal private residence is being considered. A very important factor is the onus that will be on the personal insolvency practitioner to, in so far as is reasonably practicable, formulate a proposal that will not require a person to dispose of an interest in or cease to occupy their primary home.

Also, as the Deputy will be aware, an extensive information and advice service has been put in place to assist mortgage holders, in particular when the person is considering a long-term forbearance offer from their lender.

See this speech in context