Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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12. To ask the Minister for Finance the measures he will bring forward to prevent banks moving to repossess family home before all other solutions have been exhausted; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4655/15]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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This Government is tackling the issue of mortgage arrears head on.  We overhauled the structures to support customers in arrears to find solutions.The Deputy will be aware that the Government's Strategy to address the problem of mortgage arrears was formulated in response to the recommendations of the Keane Report (2011) and the main elements of it are:

- Engagement with the banks to develop appropriate measures for their customers in mortgage arrears;

- Personal insolvency law reform and implementation;

- Mortgage to rent; and

- A Mortgage Advisory function 

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.  Even after the commencement of the legal process, it will be possible for lenders and borrowers to re-engage and it will be in the best interest of all parties if that happens.

The Deputy will be aware of the Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears (CCMA), issued under Section 117 of the Central Bank Act, 1989.  This Code  provides that a lender may only commence legal proceedings for repossession where the lender has made every reasonable effort to agree an alternative repayment arrangement with the borrower or his/her nominated representative and the specific timeframes set out in the Code have adhered to or the borrower has been classified as not co-operating.In the case of not co-operating borrowers, before classifying a borrower as such, a lender must write to the borrower to notify them that they may be classified as not co-operating and explain the steps for the borrower to take to avoid that classification.

The Deputy may also wish to note that the Central Bank commenced a themed inspection of compliance with the CCMA in Quarter 4 of 2014. The themed inspection includes onsite inspections of a number of regulated mortgage lenders to examine the processes in place around certain provisions of the CCMA and the controls lenders have in place to ensure compliance with those processes and the CCMA.

Overall, the CCMA provides a strong consumer protection framework to ensure that borrowers are treated in a fair and transparent manner by their lender and that long-term resolution is sought.