Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Independent)
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140. To ask the Minister for Finance further to the announcement of the special liquidators of the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation that they have agreed the sale of 64% of the €1.8 billion IBRC mortgage book, if he will confirm what the 64% refers to; if it is the par value, IBRC book value or a volume related figure. [16513/14]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Independent)
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141. To ask the Minister for Finance further to the announcement of the special liquidators of the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation that they have agreed the sale of 64% of the €1.8 billion IBRC mortgage book, if he will confirm which sub-portfolios have been sold by the special liquidators. [16514/14]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Independent)
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142. To ask the Minister for Finance further to the announcement of the special liquidators of the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation that they have agreed the sale of 64% of the €1.8 billion IBRC mortgage book, if he will confirm the consideration being paid for the disposal; the number of buy-to-let mortgages being sold; and the number of owner occupier being sold. [16515/14]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Independent)
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145. To ask the Minister for Finance further to the announcement of the special liquidators of the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation that they have agreed the sale of 64% of the €1.8 billion IBRC mortgage book, if he will confirm the par value of the unsold mortgages that will now be transferred to the National Asset Management Agency and the price that will be paid by NAMA for said mortgages. [16518/14]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 140 to 142, inclusive, and 145 together.

I have been advised by the Special Liquidators that the 64% refers to to the percentage, by par value, of the Sand residential mortgage portfolio that has been sale agreed with Lone Star and Oaktree Capital Management LP. It is currently expected that the remaining loans will continue to be prepared for transfer to NAMA. I am advised that the loans that have been agreed for sale consist of a mixture of PDH and BTL loans that are primarilly non-performing. The Special Liquidators will be writing to individual residential mortgage holders shortly, to provide information as to who their loan will be sold to and how it has affected their loan(s). Further information for mortgage holders is also available on the IBRC website at - . I am advised by the Secial Liquidators that they will not be providing information relating to amounts paid for portfolios by third parties as this is commercially sensitive information.

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Independent)
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143. To ask the Minister for Finance further to the announcement of the special liquidators of the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation that they have agreed the sale of 64% of the €1.8 billion IBRC mortgage book, if he will confirm that, according to the Central Bank of Ireland code of conduct for mortgage arrears, borrowers whose mortgages are in long-term arrears and are classified as long-term delinquent have no protection whatsoever from repossession action by the new buyers of the mortgage books. [16516/14]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The announcement by the special liquidators is a real positive for the State. The vast majority of the loan portfolios will be sold to third parties, which significantly reduces the State's liabilities.  The completion of these major portfolio sales represents a significant milestone for the State in relation to the liquidation of IBRC and significantly limits the amount of assets that are now likely to transfer to NAMA as a result of this process.

The two purchasers of the residential mortgage loans, Loanstar and Oaktree, have both committed to servicing these books in accordance with the terms of the Central Bank Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears. As I have previously stated, if it becomes evident that the voluntary application of the code is not delivering the requisite protections for mortgage holders in arrears, I will bring forward the required legislation. Draft heads of legislation have already been sent to the Central Bank for their consideration in advance of more detailed engagement with the Attorney General s office.

It is important to highlight that the contractual terms and conditions of all customer mortgages and other borrowings of Irish Bank Resolution Corporation have not changed as a result of the appointment of the Special Liquidators nor will those terms and conditions change as a result of the sale of these obligations to a third party. Purchasers of mortgage loans will be obliged to honour the legal terms of the loan agreements.

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Independent)
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144. To ask the Minister for Finance further to the announcement of the special liquidators of the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation that they have agreed the sale of 64% of the €1.8 billion IBRC mortgage book, if he will confirm that, according to the Central Bank of Ireland code of conduct for mortgage arrears, borrowers whose mortgages are classified as buy-to-let are not protected by the code. [16517/14]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The Central Bank's Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears 2013 applies to the mortgage loan of a borrower which is secured by his/her primary residence. Primary Residence is defined in the Code as meaning a property which is:

a) the residential property which the borrower occupies as his/her primary residence in this State, or

b) a residential property which is the only residential property in this State owned by the borrower.

Therefore buy to let mortgages are generally not protected by the Code, regardless of the regulatory status of the lender.