Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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Question 110: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his plans to obtain information on the number of mortgages issued on a local authority basis, including those issued by the Housing Finance Agency or other State organisations as appropriate; the number of these mortgages that are in arrears, the extent of the problem; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10775/11]

Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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The Housing Finance Agency does not issue loans to homeowners but provides loan finance to local authorities who on-lend to low income households. Information regarding the number and types of loans issued by local authorities has been collected by my Department as part of the statistical quarterly returns since 1994. However, I have no plans to collect information on loans issued prior to 1994.

The most recent published data available to me are the Service Indicators 2009, published earlier this year. This publication shows local authority mortgage arrears levels running at 15.08%, an increase of 3.38% on 2008. Despite worsening economic conditions generally, repossession remains extremely rare for local authority borrowers with only 103 repossessions across all local authorities carried out in the five year period 2005 – end June 2010. This includes 40 voluntary repossessions or abandonments.

Section 34 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 enables a housing authority to enter into an arrangement with a household for the rescheduling of payments of accumulated arrears, including interest, due to it in respect of specified rents, equity charges and loans, where the authority is satisfied that the household would otherwise suffer undue hardship.

Local authorities can and do exercise the powers available to them and endeavour in all arrears cases to engage proactively and constructively with a distressed borrower with the aim of enabling a household remain in their home.

In addition, to reflect the content of the Central Bank's revised Code of Conduct – which replaced the previous code from 1 January 2011 and was informed by the deliberations of the Expert Group on Mortgage Arrears and Personal Debt – my Department is currently preparing updated guidance to local authorities in consultation with the City and County Managers Association.

Where any borrower, either from a local authority or from a private financial institution, is facing difficulties in meeting mortgage repayments, they should engage proactively and constructively with the lender to seek to achieve an agreed solution.

Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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Question 111: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government when he will issue comprehensive guidance on mortgage arrears to local authorities; the consultation process and the persons involved in drawing up these guidelines; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10776/11]

Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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My Department issued comprehensive guidance to local authorities on the treatment of mortgage arrears in March 2010. That guidance was closely based on the Central Bank's first statutory Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears.

To reflect the content of the Central Bank's revised Code of Conduct – which replaced the previous code from 1 January 2011 and was informed by the deliberations of the Expert Group on Mortgage Arrears and Personal Debt – my Department is currently preparing updated guidance to local authorities in consultation with the City and County Managers Association.