Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Senator Darragh O’Brien proposed an amendment to the Order of Business to deal with the code of conduct on mortgage arrears. As I have stated before, I have been on to the Department on numerous occasions to have the Minister attend the House on this matter.

I received a reply from the Minister's private secretary which stated that:

The Minister for Finance, Michael Noonan, has asked me to refer to your queries relating to the Minister making a statement in the Seanad on the code of conduct on mortgage arrears. The code of conduct on mortgage arrears is drawn up by the Central Bank and the Central Bank is independent in carrying out its functions. The Minister has been assured by the Central Bank that it conducted extensive consultation in advance of revising the code and has also made its officials available for extensive briefings on the code. The Minister would suggest that if Senators wish to discuss and debate the code of conduct on mortgage arrears, they should invite the Central Bank to discuss the matter before the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform which would allow for a detailed, thorough examination of the code with the body responsible for the code.