Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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101. To ask the Minister for Finance if he will purchase the distressed residential and buy-to-let market mortgages from Ulster Bank; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13990/16]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I have no plans to purchase distressed loans from Ulster Bank or any other commercial bank.

The Deputy will be aware that the Consumer Protection (Regulation of Credit Servicing Firms) Act, 2015 was enacted on 8 July 2015. It was introduced to fill the consumer protection gap where loans were sold by the original lender to an unregulated firm. The 2015 Act introduced a regulatory regime for a new type of entity called a 'credit servicing firm'. Credit Servicing Firms are now subject to the provisions of Irish financial services law that apply to 'regulated financial service providers'. This ensures that relevant borrowers, whose loans are sold to third parties, maintain the same regulatory protections they had prior to the sale, including under the various statutory codes (such as the Consumer Protection Code, Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears, Code of Conduct for Business Lending to Small and Medium Enterprises and the Minimum Competency Code) issued by the Central Bank of Ireland and the Central Bank (Supervision and Enforcement) Act 2013 (Section 48) (Lending to Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises) Regulations 2015 which comes into operation on 1 July 2016.

The Code of Conduct for Mortgage Arrears provides protections for borrowers who endeavour to meet their commitments in relation to their mortgages and the 2015 Act ensures that these protections apply when a loan has been sold.

As the Deputy may also be aware, the Programme for a Partnership Government commits to considering further appropriate actions in this area and on the broader issue of overindebtedness. I would encourage those borrowers who have not been able to engage with their lender to date to contact the Money Advice & Budgeting Service dedicated mortgage advice service (MABS Helpline - 0761 07 2000) for confidential, non-judgemental and free advice and practical assistance in negotiating with their lender a suitable long term debt resolution, thus avoiding repossession of their primary residence.