Eugene Murphy (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail)
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45. To ask the Minister for Finance if a person has lost their mortgage interest relief, MIR, due to falling into arrears with their mortgage, however has subsequently resumed paying their mortgage in full with an overpayment to deal with the arrears, can they claim the MIR for the years that they are paying their mortgage in full or if they have to wait until all arrears are cleared fully on the account to claim the MIR going forward; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9542/17]

Eugene Murphy (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail)
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81. To ask the Minister for Finance if a MIR payment can be reinstated on the payments that are being paid to date even though there are still arrears on the account in the case of a mortgage that has arrears attached to it but the mortgage holder has been paying over and above the amount of repayments monthly to deal with the arrears and keep up to date with the mortgage repayments going forward; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9543/17]

Eugene Murphy (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail)
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In the case of a mortgage in arrears where the mortgage holder has been paying over and above the monthly repayments to deal with those arrears and keep up to date with the mortgage repayments in future, can MIR be reinstated even though there are still arrears on the account?

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 45 and 81 together.

Section 244 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 provides MIR in respect of qualifying interest paid in a tax year. The level of relief allowable in any tax year in respect of the amount of interest paid, inclusive of any arrears paid, cannot exceed the applicable rates and ceilings for that year. The applicable rate and ceiling for each qualifying person are determined by his or her personal circumstances, for example, whether he or she is a first-time buyer, single, married or in a civil partnership.

The mortgage interest ceilings that apply to first-time buyers - those within the first seven tax years of taking out their first mortgages - are €10,000 for a single individual and €20,000 for a married couple or civil partnership. For subsequent years, the ceilings reduce to €3,000 and €6,000, respectively.

Regarding the scenarios set out in the Deputy's questions, Revenue has confirmed that the persons in question are entitled to claim MIR as soon as they restart making mortgage payments. The relief entitlement may be increased to take account of the additional arrears payments being made, but the cumulative amount of relief granted cannot exceed the maximum level of the applicable rates and ceilings for the particular year in which the interest is paid. "Yes" is the answer, and if they are making arrears payments, they can add the relevant interest as long as they remain below the ceiling. Revenue has advised that the persons in question should contact its tax relief at source helpline at 1890 46 36 26 so the exact entitlement can be quantified, having due regard to the specific details of the cases.

The Deputy will be aware that there is a programme for Government commitment to retain MIR beyond the current end date on a tapered basis. Since legislation already provides for the relief to continue to the end of December 2017, it was not necessary to legislate for the extension in the Finance Bill 2016. In my Budget Statement in October, however, I confirmed my intention to extend MIR on a tapered basis to 2020, with the details of the extension to be set out in budget 2018. Deputy Michael McGrath is a strong advocate of this extension and we are fulfilling that commitment.

I am also pleased to note that, as mentioned in response to Deputy Burton's Priority Question, mortgage arrears and repossession data released by the Central Bank to the end of the third quarter of 2016 provide evidence that consistent progress is being made in addressing mortgage arrears, with the number of private dwelling home mortgage accounts in arrears continuing to fall for the 13th consecutive quarter.

Eugene Murphy (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail)
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That is interesting. I welcome the Minister's clarification of the issue. The young man in question bought his house in 2009 and was made redundant some time later. He subsequently regained employment and began to deal with the mortgage arrears on his account. He has been paying his full mortgage as well as extra to deal with the arrears since 2014, but tax relief at source was withdrawn from the account while he was making minimum payments.

He has been paying his mortgage in full, plus an additional amount to deal with the arrears. The EBS has refused to reapply mortgage interest relief to his mortgage, which would help him to get out of the current situation and to pay his arrears more quickly. What are the regulations regarding the application in this matter, and mortgage accounts in general? The Minister probably knows more about this issue than I do. In my view it is clear that the bank has deceived this man in a major way.

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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First, the mortgage interest relief only applies to interest which is paid. If somebody has an impaired mortgage and he or she is no longer paying interest he or she will not get interest relief, but one can get it back in subsequent years. The best thing to do would be for the Deputy or his constituent to ring the number I gave and to set out the case for the Revenue Commissioners because the advice they have given to me, which is incorporated in the reply I have outlined, would suggest that if all the facts are as the Deputy indicated, this man is entitled to the relief.

Eugene Murphy (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister for supplying the number. This man has been put through hell in his dealings with the EBS. In my view the EBS has breached many codes of conduct in dealing with the case. I have sent a comprehensive file of evidence of misconduct on the part of the EBS to the Minister's office, which was provided by the man involved. I urge the Minister to have a further look at the case.

The legal fees were added on to the balance of his mortgage account by the mortgage provider, EBS. He will be paying for them more than 27 years. The building society did that without his knowledge or consent. That is factual. He has paid more than €40,000 off his mortgage since 2014. However, he now owes more money than he borrowed, plus interest. This is what Deputy Michael McGrath and Deputy Pearse Doherty were talking about earlier. Some people are going through sheer hell in situations like this and we must get such matters straightened out. I thank the Minister for his response.

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I suggest again that the Deputy ring Revenue to straighten out the interest relief the person is entitled to receive and if he wants to pursue the matter further in terms of a complaint, it is to Central Bank that the complaint should be addressed in the first instance.