David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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Question 131: To ask the Minister for Finance his position regarding persons in mortgage arrears; the details of the instructions, if any, issued to banks and other financial institutions by him or the Financial Regulator regarding the need to negotiate with clients who are unable to meet their mortgage repayments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3466/12]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The Central Bank's Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears (the Code) applies to mortgage lending activities with borrowers in respect of their principal private residence in the State. Compliance with the Code is mandatory on all mortgage lenders registered with the Central Bank. The Code provides a number of protections to borrowers. These include the establishment of a formal Mortgage Arrears Resolution Process (MARP) to deal with mortgage customers who are in arrears or pre-arrears, the establishment of a dedicated Appeals Support Unit and a separate internal appeals process by lenders to deal with individuals on a case by case basis.

Provision 9 of the Code restricts lenders from imposing charges and/or surcharge interest on arrears outstanding in MARP cases. The Central Bank notifies each lender individually of the charges to which provision 9 applies by means of a letter of Direction. A copy of the Code is available on the Central Bank's website www.centralbank.ie. With regard to monitoring compliance with the Code, in July 2011 the Central Bank published the findings of a themed inspection of mortgage lenders which examined compliance with provision 9 and related individual Letters of Direction that were issued in December 2010. The Central Bank has also published on its website a copy of "Mortgage Arrears-a Consumer Guide to Dealing with your Lender".

The Deputy will be aware of the report of the Inter-Departmental Group on Mortgage Arrears which was published last October. The report sets out a number of recommendations to address the situation of those in mortgage arrears. The report stated that the issue of mortgage difficulty can only be addressed in an efficient way on a case by case basis. Arising from the report, a number of developments are underway that will be of assistance to mortgage holders experiencing significant difficulty.