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

I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after "last quarter are performing restructures;" and substitute the following:"— FLAC has concluded that there is a 'significant inequality of arms between the lender and borrower' where the borrower 'may have no meaningful influence on the content of the terms of the loan and may be wholly unaware that the lender is reserving the right to sell the loan on to an entity of its choice';

— the Consumer Protection (Regulation of Credit Servicing Firms) Act 2018 passed all stages last year and under that legislation so called 'vulture funds' are now regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland;

— there is no legal obligation to honour a restructured arrangement once the loan is sold to a new lender; and

— there is no legal obligation to transfer the full and complete file on the borrower to the new lender when the loan is transferred thus making it very difficult for the borrower to challenge the position of the new lender; and

calls on the Government to:

— ensure that the Central Bank of Ireland's Report on the Effectiveness of the Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears in the context of the Sale of Loans by Regulated Lenders, which was furnished to the Minister for Finance in 2018, be given legislative force to ensure that all parts of the code are expressly admissible in repossession hearings;

— legally oblige a lender to transfer the borrower's full and complete file, along with correspondence, to the new lender when a loan is transferred or sold;

— legally stipulate that a restructured arrangement must be adhered to when the loan is transferred or sold to a new lender;

— recognise that so-called 'vulture funds' pose an immediate and overwhelming threat to borrowers in rural and urban Ireland;

— accept that unregulated entities have demonstrated a clear unwillingness to abide by voluntary codes of conduct; and

— revise the Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears in order to ensure that all lenders must consider the options outlined in provisions 38 and 39."

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