Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Fine Gael)
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Question 25: To ask the Minister for Finance if he will support home owners in significant negative equity and in financial trouble to have assistance from the National Asset Management Agency in the form of an equity stake in a private home; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43028/09]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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The National Asset Management Agency is being set up to remove land and development loans and associated loans from the balance sheets of participating financial institutions. There are no plans, at present, to extend the scope of NAMA beyond land and development loans and associated loans.

The Government is conscious of the high value Irish people place on home ownership and has committed under the Renewed Program for Government to introduce new measures to protect families having difficulties with their home mortgage payments. Further work is ongoing on these issues with a view to early results. It should be noted, however, that the Financial Regulator has estimated that only a small proportion of borrowers with the covered institutions who are in negative equity are in arrears on their payments.

This work will build on existing Government supported solutions for dealing with home owners with mortgage arrears including: application of the new Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears which applies to all mortgage lenders; support from the Mortgage Interest Scheme under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance system which is providing vital support for over 14,000 families with mortgage difficulties; and the provision of advice on debt management through the Money Advice Budgeting Service (MABS).

In relation to the position of mortgage holders generally, the Irish Bankers Federation published a Statement of Intent on 10 November which provides further reassurance to homeowners who find themselves genuinely unable to maintain mortgage repayments on their principal private residence. The Statement of Intent has been agreed and supported by all IBF members and is a welcome development. It is also welcome that the IBF Oversight Committee on the implementation of the Statement of Intent will include representation from the Money Advice Budgeting Service (MABS).

The Renewed Program for Government contains a provision to reform debt enforcement in light of the deliberations of the Law Reform Commission, which recently published a consultation paper on the matter. A new system of personal insolvency regulations will be created which will allow for a statutory non-court-based debt settlement system. In addition, it is also the Government's intention to establish a new Debt Enforcement Office which will remove as many debt enforcement proceeds from the courts as possible.

The Government recently decided that all relevant material on the matter of indebtedness and mortgage arrears in Departments should be brought together in consideration of this matter; and external input should be by way of consultation where relevant Ministers could meet with appropriate external organisations. In response, an interdepartmental group has been set up for the purpose of collecting information and examining options in this area.