Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The code of conduct on mortgage arrears is at the heart of this motion. It was introduced in 2010 and has served borrowers well, in general, by providing a rule book lenders must abide by when dealing with people in mortgage arrears. The rule book was diluted by the current Government in 2013 when it allowed banks to move legally within 30 days against people who are deemed not to be co-operative. In other words, the banks had the power to deem people as not co-operative and issue legal proceedings within 30 days. The restriction on the amount of contact a bank can have with a person in arrears was lifted. Previously banks were limited in how much contact they could have with a person in arrears but the changes mean they contact such people regularly. The 12 month moratorium was replaced by an eight month moratorium. Borrower protection was significantly diluted in the revised code of conduct that was published in 2013.

I mentioned that different banks are taking different approaches but this can also happen within institutions depending on the person a borrower must deal with. This happens because banks are not working to a common set of rules on mortgage arrears cases. Does anyone in this House know the criteria for how a borrower in arrears can qualify to have mortgage debt written off? The criteria are not published so I do not know how such decisions are made. Some banks have taken a hard line approach and this has led to the development of deeply unfair situations. It is not good enough because an essential element of fairness is consistency - people must be treated consistently and this is not happening at the moment.

Deputy Barry is correct that there is movement and some deals are being done. Some cases are being handled sympathetically - I have been involved in some and the outcomes were fair - but in other cases it is like banging one's head against a wall. We are not making the progress that we should and I cannot point to a document that requires banks to deal with cases in a certain way. Ultimately, the bank makes the final call. The mortgage arrears targets programme has resulted in much activity but the bank still decides what constitutes a sustainable solution.

See this speech in context