Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Finance his views on the recently expressed views(details supplied) that home repossession levels here are uncharacteristically low and may need to increase considerably; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13509/13]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The Government is very aware of the significant difficulties some homeowners are facing in meeting their mortgage obligations and has put in place a comprehensive strategy to address the problem. As announced yesterday, the implementation of this strategy has further intensified with the Central Bank now setting time bound and measurable targets for banks on their progress in resolving, on a durable basis, the position of their mortgage customers who are in arrears on their mortgage. The “Keane Report” has already outlined a number of possible options that can be considered in order to provide a sustainable solution for a mortgage in difficulty on a case by case basis. While the Government accepts that, in a functioning market, it is necessary to have a repossession system with appropriate safeguards for both debtors and creditors, the Government, as indeed also did the Secretary General before the PAC, has clearly indicated that repossession is only an option of last resort. The overall Government strategy for the resolution of mortgage difficulty is designed to ensure that, wherever possible, banks offer sustainable solutions that will enable families remain in their home and that borrowers will meaningfully engage with their lender in the development of such solutions having regard to the circumstances of each individual case.

In his contribution to the Committee of Public Accounts, the Secretary General of my Department clearly indicated that there will need to be a range of options to deal with cases of mortgage arrears and that there is no one solution that will fit every situation. He also provided some data to the Committee but he did not indicate or suggest that there is or should be a target for repossessions. Rather he pointed out that it is a key part of the resolution process that banks find all the solutions they can to allow people in mortgage difficulty to remain in their home.