Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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Question 21: To ask the Minister for Finance if he plans any interim measures to assist distressed borrowers prior to the finalisation of the personnel insolvency legislation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25604/12]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The Report of the Inter-Departmental Group on Mortgage Arrears indicated that the reform of personal insolvency legislation is a central catalyst to the resolution of the mortgage arrears problem. In particular it stated that new non-judicial debt settlement arrangements are vital to address the problem.

The Deputy will be aware that the Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence published the general scheme of a Personal Insolvency Bill for public consultation at the end of January. The Bill is currently being drafted by the Department of Justice in co-operation with the Office of the Attorney General and the Parliamentary Counsel. The Deputy will appreciate that this is a very lengthy and complex Bill from a legal standpoint, with proposed provisions which do not currently exist in Irish law. The Bill remains a legislative priority for the Government and publication of the Bill is the end of June. The Minister for Justice has indicated his strong intention to commence the Second stage prior to the Summer recess to facilitate early passage of the legislation through the Oireachtas in the Autumn session.

The Deputy will also be aware that mortgage holders who are in difficulty with their mortgage obligations have significant protections available to them under the Central Bank's Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears. In addition, the Department of Social Protection's mortgage interest supplement scheme also provides for direct support to mortgage holders that have had to avail of social welfare support and over 18,000 households currently avail of this benefit. Budgeting advice is available through the MABS which is also funded by the Department of Social Protection.

These existing supports are being supplemented by new measures arising from the implementation of recommendations contained of the Interdepartmental Committee's Report. A mortgage to rent scheme involving the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government and voluntary housing bodies is being piloted by a number of the banks in advance of a wider rollout. More generally, the Central Bank has asked all lenders to submit Board approved loan modification and resolution options such as those recommended in the Inter-Departmental Committee's report as well as the segmentation of their mortgage portfolio by the end of May. The intention will be that banks will make proposals for each category and develop them into solutions for activation during the second half of this year. It is not the case that the activation of these measures is dependent on the enactment of the Personal Insolvency legislation but rather they offer a framework within which agreement can be reached on a case-by-case basis between the lender and the borrower.

The Deputy will also be aware that since last March, a special Government committee focused on this issue has been meeting on a regular basis to ensure that a high priority is assigned to the delivery of the implementation of the "Keane report" recommendations across relevant Departments and agencies. The committee is chaired by An Taoiseach and includes all the Ministers that have a role in this broad area and will ensure action on the part of all involved in addressing this difficult issue for those households unable to their mortgage commitments.