Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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80. To ask the Minister for Finance the extent to which he continues to monitor the activities of venture capital companies which purchased loan books from various lending institutions and are now forcing the borrowers to surrender their homes voluntarily or otherwise, have shown a distinct unwillingness to restructure such loans and which would appear destined to make a considerable profit at the expense of borrowers who have made valiant efforts to try to discharge their indebtedness and who continue to do so; if a review might be undertaken to clarify the extent of such practices; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37581/14]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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81. To ask the Minister for Finance the degree to which his Department has monitored the activities of purchasers of impaired loan books from various lending institutions with particular reference to clarification as to the number of instances wherein legal procedures have been initiated, loans have been restructured, where voluntary sale or surrender is deemed to have taken place; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37582/14]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 80 and 81 together.

Some of the companies that purchased loan books from lending institutions in Ireland are regulated entities and are therefore regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland. As statutory regulator of credit institutions, the Central Bank has the power, from both a prudential and consumer protection perspective, to require banks to meaningfully and sustainably address mortgage arrears cases on their books. All borrowers whose loans have been purchased by regulated entities, and were previously protected under the consumer codes, remain so protected. As the Deputy is aware, the Central Bank publishes statistics in relation to residential mortgage arrears and repossessions on a quarterly basis.

Where the purchaser of a loan book is not a regulated entity in Ireland, those companies have committed to voluntarily apply the codes when managing the loan books. Of course, voluntary compliance is not enforceable and ultimately it is the aim of this Government to ensure the same protections for all consumers whose loans have been sold.

Therefore, as Minister for Finance, I am committed to bringing forward legislation that protects consumers whose mortgages are sold to unregulated entities. The Government has reiterated this commitment on several occasions. In July and August of this year, my Department ran a public consultation seeking views on its proposed legislation to protect consumers whose loans are sold to unregulated entities.  

The Department of Finance received 18 submissions from a range of respondents from the financial services industry, consumer groups, public representatives and individuals and other stakeholders. Officials in my Department are carefully considering the submissions and it is anticipated that legislation will be published by the end of this year.