Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister for coming to the House to take this issue. I refer him to 1 July 2014 when I asked the following parliamentary question:

To ask the Minister for Finance the number of mortgage holders of each financial institution operating here whose repayment schedule and interest rate was either aligned to at the time or due to be converted to an ECB tracker rate at a point in the future who have since converted to a variable rate, waived entitlement to a tracker rate for the period of 2008 to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

The Central Bank has advised me that they do not publish the information requested by the Deputy.

My office received a call today from Bernard Sheridan of the Central Bank of Ireland. I returned the call at 15.05 approx on Sept 3rd 2014 and spoke with Mr. Sheridan. After 11 minutes of verbal procrastination and [circumlocution] on a scale I have not witnessed for a while, Mr. Sheridan eventually acknowledged that the Central Bank does know the amount of mortgage accounts moved from tracker rates to variable rates - but only for accounts in arrears.

I requested this information despite being told previously in writing that the CB does not have that info - from the CB. After initially side stepping the question on numerous occasions and using vast amounts of verbiage - Mr. Sheridan under forced very direct questioning admitted being in possession of the numbers I requested and eventually agreed to furnish me with the numbers again stressing only for those in arrears.

The phone call from Mr. Sheridan began along the lines of The CB does not believe that the Banks are engaging in any practice to encourage borrowers to move off trackers - explicitly used the word "believe" which I took issue with and advised Mr. Sheridan that as a representative of the public who remain traumatised by the events of recent years and are not trusting of banks and the system of Governance - I wanted to know does the CB know the amount of [mortgage-holders who have been moved from a tracker rate to a variable rate].

Mr. Sheridan repeatedly obfuscated before finally relenting after vigorous questioning. I hope that this call has been recorded at the CB.

You will note in particular that all lenders have confirmed that, as a matter of policy, they do not and have not required [private dwelling-home] borrowers to move from a tracker mortgage rate to a more unfavourable rate during the lifetime of the mortgage. During our inspection, we found no evidence to suggest that this is not the case. However, we identified some weaknesses in lenders' monitoring of compliance with these policies.

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Jim Daly for raising this issue. I am not sure my scripted response will be an appropriate answer to the issues he has raised now, but I will read it anyway and we can talk about it at the end.

As Deputies will be aware, the code of conduct on mortgage arrears, CCMA, provides a strong consumer protection framework for borrowers. One of the elements contained in the code is protection for borrowers who have tracker rate mortgages. Recent data published by the Central Bank indicate that 52%, or approximately €60 billion, of the balances outstanding for credit advanced to Irish resident households for home purchases is at a tracker rate. At the outset, it is important to state that lenders cannot remove a borrower's tracker rate just because the borrower is in arrears. The Central Bank has published guidance to support borrowers and the website keepingyourhoime.iealso has information to assist borrowers. Furthermore, there are a number of support bodies, such as the Money Advice and Budgeting Service, that can provide essential assistance to borrowers who are dealing with arrears.

On the issue of tracker mortgages specifically, the Central Bank has carefully considered whether there are any circumstances which would merit a lender offering a borrower an arrangement which resulted in the borrower changing from his or her existing tracker rate and concluded that there may be exceptional cases where this could arise in order to prevent the borrower losing his or her home. Consequently, the CCMA provides that the lender must not require the borrower to change from an existing tracker mortgage to another mortgage type, as part of any alternative repayment arrangement offered to the borrower, except in prescribed circumstances.

Provision 39 of the CCMA requires that in order to determine which options for alternative repayment arrangements are viable for each particular case, a lender must explore all of the options offered by that lender. If the lender concludes that none of the options that would allow the borrower to retain his or her tracker interest rate are appropriate and sustainable for the borrower's individual circumstances, provision 46 of the CCMA provides that the lender may offer the borrower an alternative repayment arrangement which requires the borrower to change from an existing tracker mortgage to another mortgage type, if the proposed alternative repayment arrangement satisfies the following conditions: all other options, which would retain the tracker rate, have been considered to be unsustainable; it is affordable for the borrower; and it is a long-term sustainable solution which is consistent with Central Bank of Ireland policy on sustainability.

In addition, the CCMA requires lenders to explain in the offer letter the reasons the alternative arrangement offered is considered to be appropriate and sustainable as well as the advantages and any disadvantages or potential disadvantages of any arrangement offered, with regard to the individual circumstances of the borrower. Furthermore, and importantly, lenders must engage with the Central Bank on any proposal to avail of provision 46 of the CCMA. This means there are further strong protections in place. The Central Bank has indicated that to date no lender has engaged with it on developing any such products.

This was also confirmed in the outcome of the Central Bank's recently published report on its themed inspection on compliance with the code of conduct on mortgage arrears. During this inspection all lenders confirmed that, as a matter of policy, they do not require, and have not required, borrowers to move from a tracker mortgage rate to a more unfavourable rate during the lifetime of the mortgage.

Brian Walsh (Galway West, Independent)
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I am sorry to interrupt the Minister. He will have an opportunity to come back in. The time as elapsed.

Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister for his response. In essence, we are part of a government of a very stressed society and people rightly expect their public representatives to demand accountability. While I am proud of our record as a Government on many fronts, this is an issue on which the record will show I have been seeking answers for 12 months, almost to the day.

It is simple and straightforward. As somebody humbled and honoured to represent the people as a Member of this House, I requested first the Minister and then the Central Bank to answer the straight question as to how many accounts under the governance of the Irish banks have been moved from a tracker rate to a variable rate, because the evidence of which I am aware suggests a number of them have been moved? It is a practice that must be examined. It is despicable if the banks are taking advantage of borrowers under duress and stress and encouraging them off their tracker rates onto variable rates.

The bigger issue is that the Central Bank, which governs and monitors the banks - that is not my duty, as a public representative, or the Minister's - cannot or will not provide me with the answer to that one question I have sought for 12 months. It has sent me around the houses and down every avenue rather than provide me with it.

The Central Bank talks about policy. My personal assistant and I met a number of the officials in the Central Bank. We asked, ahead of their last investigation into the banks and the report they was compiling, if they would specifically ask each bank how many accounts had moved and yet they have come back to me again with the same nonsense on what the policy is. I am not interested in the policy. I would appreciate it if the Minister would commit today to getting the information that I seek from the Central Bank and, by extension, from all the banks.

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Jim Daly.

The Central Bank is independent and I cannot compel it to provide the Deputy with the information he requests. However, I will get my officials to forward copies of Deputy Jim Daly's interventions today to the Governor of the Central Bank and ask him to provide the Deputy with the information requested or, if he is unable to do that, to provide an explanation as to why he is able to do so.