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

I can confirm that in conversations around the time of the negotiation of the programme for Government there was an agreement that we would continue to have the code of conduct on a statutory basis and that it would be extended to cover certain options that borrowers are not statutorily bound to offer. The two the Deputy mentioned certainly were the principal ones that came up in conversation but there may be others as well. There is not a draft: it was an acceptance of an issue in principle and now that we have the programme for Government agreed and published we are commencing to work with the Central Bank to format this. I have had no discussion with the Attorney General about this because, as the Deputy is aware, the Central Bank has very strong powers. It was it that promulgated the code of conduct in the first instance and I do not see a constitutional difficulty arising.

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