Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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76. To ask the Minister for Finance if his prior approval is required before the disposal of loans by Permanent TSB; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15056/15]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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77. To ask the Minister for Finance if the restructuring plan for Permanent TSB requires it to dispose of part of its mortgage book; the criteria it will apply in deciding which loans will be disposed of; the implication of such a sale for its customers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15057/15]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 76 and 77 together.

As the Deputy is aware, Permanent TSB has published details of the key elements of the Restructuring Plan on its website at .

As part of the Restructuring Plan, Permanent TSB will commit to reduce the value of defaulted Irish tracker mortgages through a combination of measures, including cures and asset sales by a predetermined date and according to a predetermined schedule.

I have been informed by Permanent TSB that it is its clear preference to reduce the value of defaulted Irish tracker mortgages by way of completed treatments in order to cure the defaulted loans rather than by other means. If the target cannot be met through this approach or other means, then Permanent TSB would be required by the Restructuring Plan to sell such loans within the predetermined timelines.

Under Clause 11 of the Relationship Framework, Permanent TSB would be obliged to consult with me prior to a disposal, outside the ordinary course of business, of a loan/loans for an amount in excess of €50 million.  In the Relationship Framework it is recognised that Permanent TSB remains a separate economic unit with independent powers of decision and that its Board and management team retain responsibility and authority for determining Permanent TSB's strategy and commercial policies and conducting its day-to-day operations. The consultation would carefully assess, at that particular point in time, the matter based on the facts and in particular the impact on Permanent TSB's profit, capital and funding and compliance with Restructuring Plan commitments.

The Deputy may also be aware that The Consumer Protection (Regulation of Credit Servicing Firms) Bill 2015 was published in January and second stage of the Bill was taken in the Dáil on 4 February. Since then, my officials have been in contact with the Central Bank and with the Office of the Attorney General to further progress the legislation.

It remains my intention to ensure that borrowers whose loans are sold by a regulated entity to a currently unregulated entity maintain the same protections as they had prior to the sale. The Bill will continue its progress through the legislative process and I look forward to further discussion of the Bill at Committee Stage.

The legislation is not retrospective. However, it will apply to all loans as defined, regardless of when they were acquired, thus capturing loan books that have already been sold. A similar approach was used in 2013 in relation to debt management firms.