Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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394. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will set out in tabular form the total number of persons in financial difficulty who have benefited from the Mortgage Arrears Information and Advice Service in each month since it was established; the total number of practitioners who have signed up to provide advice under the scheme; her views on whether the €250 amount available for payment for advice is adequate; her plans to review the scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50491/13]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Mortgage Arrears Information and Advice Service was established to provide a comprehensive and coordinated approach to assist people in mortgage arrears or pre-arrears in assessing their options. The service, which differentiates between mortgage information and mortgage advice, has three elements:

- The website which was developed as the key online access portal for general mortgage information and advice and launched in June 2012.

- The Mortgage Arrears Information Helpline (phone 0761 074050) established in August 2012, provides general mortgage arrears information and signposting in relation to the Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears and other supports available for those in mortgage arrears or pre-arrears.

- The provision of independent financial advice to mortgage holders who are being presented with long term mortgage resolution proposals by their lenders launched in September 2012.

The advice is provided by a panel of accountants drawn from members of the main accountancy institutes in Ireland. A county by county panel with over 2000 participating accountants is in place and their details are available on Borrowers are free to choose their own advisor from this panel and the lender will pay €250 to the accountant of the borrower’s choice for the provision of this advice.

The Central Bank collates the information relating to the number of borrowers who have availed of the independent financial advice service and it is only available on a quarterly basis commencing in quarter1 2013. The data supplied doesn’t relate exactly to the reporting period as there will be delays between the time the lender makes the long-term resolution offer to the borrower, the meeting with the accountant and the receipt by the lender of the invoice. A full review of the independent financial advice service is underway to ensure that the service is meeting its objectives. The review encompasses all aspects of the service and is expected to be completed shortly and will be published in due course.

The data requested by the Deputy is set out in the following table.

Mortgage Arrears Information and Advice Service