Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Consumer Protection (Regulation of Credit Servicing Firms) Bill 2015. This is an extremely important piece of regulation which I fully support and I commend the Minister on bringing it to the House. It is quite clear that consumers need protection when they are taking out credit, whether it be personal loans, car loans or mortgages. It is also quite clear that consumers should be entitled to the same protection even if their loans are sold on to a third party. It is simply not fair that these protections can be avoided due to the fact that the firm buying the loan books is not regulated. It is my belief that consumers should always maintain the protections they had when taking out their loans even if that same loan is eventually sold on. The proposed legislation seeks to fully address this issue. I have constituents in County Louth who have raised many issues with me with regard to their loans and mortgages being sold on to third parties and this legislation will be welcome news to them. It will bring clarity and certainty on how their loans, and in particular loans that were sold on to third parties, will be regulated and governed.

As we know the purpose of this legislation is to protect consumers who have loans with regulated financial service providers who subsequently sell them on to unregulated firms. The Bill will once and for all address the concerns surrounding the continued protection of the Central Bank's codes and also give borrowers access to the protection of the Financial Services Ombudsman if their loans are sold to unregulated entities. I am also pleased to note that the Bill will regulate the activity of credit servicing and require that firms engaged in credit servicing will be authorised by the Central Bank and will therefore afford the same protection to borrowers if their loans are sold on. These borrowers will now have and maintain the same protection they had on their original credit agreement even if their loans are sold on to a third party.

I also note and welcome that the Bill will allow borrowers to make complaints to the Financial Services Ombudsman. The Bill ensures that the relevant Central Bank codes will also apply to credit unions who sell on their loan books. I deal with many local businesses in County Louth and in particular in my home town of Dundalk and surrounding areas like the Cooley region, Ardee and Dunleer. Amongst the many worries and concerns that these businesses and SMEs have are those regarding their borrowings. Many have found themselves in a position where they have borrowed too much and are under pressure to service their loans. I am particularly pleased that the Bill will also help these businesses and SMEs and that they will be afforded the same protection under the code of conduct for business lending to small and medium enterprises, which protects them regarding arrears handling and complaint resolution among other things.

This will be particularly welcomed by the business community, which is now seeing at first hand green shoots starting to appear in the Irish economy after many years of difficult trading conditions.

I thank the Minister for bringing the Bill to the House. I have no doubt it will bring much-needed relief and comfort to many people who have had their loans sold on to unregulated firms.

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