Aideen Hayden (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the news that AIB has written €150,000 off the loan on a family home of €400,000 for a family of four, which enables it to stay in it. The deal was negotiated by the Irish Mortgage Holders Organisation. This is a very positive step in dealing with the issue of mortgage arrears. This type of service should, however, be available to all borrowers, not just those whose loans are with AIB or the EBS, and should be funded by the whole banking industry.

FLAC, Free Legal Aid Centres, has published a report entitled, Redressing the Imbalance, and one of its important recommendations is that the code of conduct on mortgage arrears has some serious deficiencies. The report raises very serious concerns about the Financial Services Ombudsman. It states that, although the Financial Services Ombudsman "will examine a failure by a lender to adhere to process, it feels unable to overturn the commercial decisions of lenders to declare a mortgage unsustainable or to offer what a borrower may believe is an unsuitable alternative repayment arrangement. These gaps in normal fair procedure rules leave consumers in mortgage arrears seriously exposed to the potential loss of their family homes in circumstances where such loss may not necessarily be objectively justified; hence it is a matter which requires the urgent attention not just of the Central Bank...". The Minister for Finance has said several times that it is not within his remit, but FLAC recommends that the Oireachtas objectively review the legislation establishing the Financial Services Ombudsman. Will the Leader as a matter of urgency bring this issue to the attention of the Government and arrange for the House to review the legislation which is not fit for purpose in defending mortgage holders?