Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael)
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Question 18: To ask the Minister for Finance the number of households that are one month, three months and six months behind in their mortgage payments; his plans to address the mortgage crisis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33922/10]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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There are no statistics available for mortgage accounts in arrears for one month. The latest mortgage arrears data from the Central Bank and Financial Regulator for period end June 2010 published on 1 September 2010 provide the following statistics for mortgage accounts in arrears more than 90 days and 180 days: 36, 438 mortgage accounts in arrears for more than 90 days of which 24,797 are in arrears for more than 180 days. These figures do not equate to the actual number of homeowners in arrears. This is because an estimated 20% of homeowners have two or more accounts, which are included in the figures reported by the Financial Regulator for period ended June 2010. Examples of this are where the mortgage is divided into part-fixed and part-variable or where a second account was opened to cover spending on an extension.

With regard to the second part of the question, it is a priority of the Government to ensure that as far as possible that difficulties in relation to mortgage arrears do not result in legal proceedings for home repossession. The Deputy will be aware that the Government is currently providing support for a number of initiatives designed to assist homeowners who are finding it difficult to meet their mortgage repayments including the Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears (CCMA), the Mortgage Interest Subsidy Scheme and the services provided by Money Advice Budgeting Service (MABS), which are all having a positive impact on the number of homeowners facing repossession.

The Financial Regulator, who has responsibility for the CCMA, undertook a review, at my request, of the effectiveness of the moratorium period for legal repossessions in the CCMA and decided to extend the moratorium period from six to 12 months in line with my request. You will be aware that the 12 month moratorium came into effect on 17 February last and runs from the date the borrower fell into arrears.

In addition to the above supports, the Deputy will be aware of the Government's commitments to Protecting the Family Home and Helping those in Debt under the Renewed Programme for Government, and of the appointment by me last February of the Mortgage Arrears and Personal Debt Expert Group (Expert Group) under the independent chair of Hugh Cooney, an insolvency accountant. The purpose of the Expert Group is to make recommendations to me on options for dealing with the growing problem of mortgage arrears and personal indebtedness.

The Deputy will also be aware that the Expert Group submitted their Interim Report (www.finance.gov.ie ) to me on 5th July. In general the recommendations of the Expert Group's Interim Report are intended to improve communication between householders in arrears and their lenders; provide for a more consistent assessment process by lenders of borrowers in difficulty and introduce an industry-wide Mortgage Arrears Resolution Process (MARP) including a range of forbearance measures. The recommendations have been accepted in full by the Government and action is being taken to bring them into effect. A consultation process on proposed amendments to the Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears (CCMA) which will give effect to the recommendations of the Expert Group is currently under way by the Office of the Financial Regulator.

The Expert Group has since commenced the second phase of their investigations and will consider how best to deal with the more complex issues facing borrowers in arrears. I expect to receive their final report by the end of October. The Government will then have an opportunity to consider the recommendations and decide on actions to be taken.