Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour) | Oireachtas source

There continues to be a serious problem with mortgage arrears. The Government's plan for tackling that mortgage arrears problem is based on one important premise, which is keeping the roof over people's heads. Today's figures show that some progress is being made. The statistics show a decline in the overall stock of principal dwelling houses with mortgages in arrears relative to the figures for the end of June. This is the first decrease in the outstanding balance since the series began in September 2009. It shows that the Government strategy in tackling mortgage arrears is working and that banks are engaging proactively with their customers to find solutions.

In addition, early arrears declined significantly during the reporting period with a quarter-on-quarter fall of 6%. This appears to demonstrate some success by the lenders in addressing the accounts in early arrears and putting in place appropriate measures to prevent borrowers from going further into arrears. The number of principal dwelling house mortgage accounts, which are categorised as restructured at the end of September, now stands at 80,555, an increase of 1.5% when compared with the previous quarter. Consumers and lenders are agreeing permanent restructures for those in arrears or those who think they will fall into arrears. Engagement with banks and borrowers is crucial to securing sustainable mortgages.

The Government's continuing approach to tackling mortgage arrears is based on the Central Bank, which has now set clear targets for the banks to deal with distressed borrowers, requiring them to offer sustainable solutions by the end of next year with 50% to be done by the end of this year. The Central Bank is closely monitoring the banks' sustainable solutions and auditing their work regularly. We have radically overhauled the bankruptcy rules, reducing the period from 12 years to three years. That legislation will be commenced very shortly. We have introduced the mortgage-to-rent scheme with more than 1,000 cases being progressed and more than 100 families finding a solution. The Insolvency Service of Ireland has been established, providing a range of solutions to resolve debt problems. The Central Bank has issued a revised code of conduct on mortgage arrears, which ensures the resolution of each case in a fair, sustainable and transparent way. The Central Bank is working to find solutions for people with multiple-debt issues because in some cases it is not just the mortgage as other debts are involved.

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