James Bannon (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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208. To ask the Minister for Finance if he has assessed the numbers of home repossessions which are ratified and are occurring; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3577/15]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The Central Bank's Residential Mortgage Arrears and Repossession Statistics for Quarter 3 of 2014 can be accessed at the following link: .

I am very aware of this issue and a number of initiatives have been put in place to address it.  While the administration of the Courts is a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Justice and Equality,  it is important to note that there are important protections available to borrowers under the Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears (CCMA).

In accordance with the CCMA, any lender must have complied with the CCMA before a threat of repossession can be made. The CCMA provides an integrated and cohesive package of consumer protection measures for borrowers facing or in mortgage arrears.

Under the CCMA, a lender may only commence legal proceedings for repossession of a borrower's primary residence, where:

a) the lender has made every reasonable effort under the CCMA to agree an alternative repayment arrangement with the borrower or his/her nominated representative; and

b) (i) for co-operating borrowers, eight months from the date the arrears arose, or three months from the date of the letter informing the borrower that an alternative repayment arrangement is not deemed to be appropriate; or

(ii) where the borrower has been classified as not co-operating and the lender has issued the notification required under the CCMA.

While the repossession of a principal dwelling house consequent upon mortgage default should only be considered as a last option for a person in genuine difficulty, repossessions do arise and this can be expected to continue as long as the mortgage crisis remains.  It should be noted, however, that when repossessions do arise most are of a voluntary nature and that the legal repossession route only arises in a minority of cases.

It is important to point out, however, that even if a repossession case has commenced in the legal system, the Land and Conveyancing (Law Reform) Act 2013 now provides a power to the Court to adjourn a repossession proceeding in relation to a principal private residence to enable the borrower to consult a personal insolvency practitioner (PIP) and, where appropriate, to instruct the PIP to make a Personal Insolvency Arrangement (PIA) proposal.  In formulating a proposal for a PIA, the Personal Insolvency Act 2012 places an onus on a PIP to do so on terms that shall not insofar as reasonably practicable, require the borrower to dispose of an interest or cease to occupy a principal private residence.

The strong view of the Government is that, in respect of co-operating borrowers under the Mortgage Arrears Resolution Process, repossession of a person's primary home should only be considered as a last resort and that every effort should be made to agree a sustainable arrangement as an alternative to repossession.