Michael McCarthy (Cork South West, Labour)
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To ask the Minister for Finance if he will advise on a mortgage situation in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Cork; the options available to the person concerned; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51478/12]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy will appreciate that it would not be appropriate for me to advise or comment on individual cases, however the key advice for any mortgage holder experiencing difficulties with their mortgage is to engage at an early stage with their bank.

From an overall public policy perspective, a number of steps have been taken to protect all homeowners experiencing mortgage difficulty. The Central Bank’s Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears is a key protection and provides that each bank must put in place a formal Mortgage Arrears Resolution Process to deal with its mortgage customers who are in arrears or pre-arrears and for the establishment of dedicated arrears support units and appeals processes to handle such cases. The Code highlights the importance of a borrower contacting their lender when they are in arrears or pre-arrears. A key protection is a 12 month moratorium on action by lenders. The Central Bank has published a guide for consumers on mortgage arrears called ‘Mortgage Arrears – A Consumer Guide to Dealing with your Lender’ and this is available on the Central Bank website:

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The Government is committed to advancing appropriate measures to assist those mortgage holders who are experiencing real and genuine difficulty. In this regard, the Government is now actively implementing the main recommendations contained in the ‘Keane Report’.

A number of significant milestones have now been achieved:-

- The Personal Insolvency Bill was published last June and the Bill has been progressed by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence and Dáil Report stage on the Bill has recently concluded.

- The Minister for Housing and Planning has formally launched the “mortgage to rent” scheme on a nationwide basis;

- Lenders have now provided details to the Central Bank on their proposed forbearance and loan modification options for appropriate cases. The roll out of these options commenced in the final quarter of this year with Central Bank oversight;

- Also an extensive independent mortgage advice framework has now been put in place by the Minister of Social Protection comprising (i) an enhanced website www.keepingyourhome.ie (ii) a Mortgage Arrears information helpline, and (iii) the provision of free independent ‘one-to-one’ professional financial advice to borrowers when considering a long term forbearance/resolution offer from their lender. The list of accountants providing this service is located on the www.keepingyourhome.ie website.

The general policy issue of mortgage arrears is of the utmost importance to Government and in recognition of this, the Taoiseach is chairing a special Government committee on mortgage arrears to oversee the overall Government response to tackle the problem. In addition to this, a high level Steering Group, chaired by the Department of Finance, is continuing to drive the implementation of the recommendations set out in the Inter-Departmental Group on Mortgage Arrears (the ‘Keane Report’) at official level.