Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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83. To ask the Minister for Finance the proposals he is currently considering to ensure that mortgage holders and tenants and SMEs who have loans or credit from non-bank lenders or vulture funds are fully protected; if he is considering extending the provisions of the Consumer Protection (Regulation of Credit Servicing Firms) Act 2015 in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34093/16]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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121. To ask the Minister for Finance the extent to which he can ensure compliance with full Irish and European banking regulations by the purchasers of distressed or other loan books from the banking sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34277/16]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 83 and 121 together.

As the Deputy will be aware, 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'.

Under the  Consumer Protection (Regulation of Credit Servicing Firms) Act 2015 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) 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 came into operation on 1 July 2016.

Under the Act, purchasers of loan books must either be regulated by the Central Bank themselves or else the loans must be serviced by a credit servicing firm who is regulated by the Central Bank. In addition to compliance with Central Bank codes of conduct, credit servicing firms will have to demonstrate to the Central Bank that they have robust governance and adequate resources to ensure compliance with its obligations under Irish financial services legislation. 

Nonetheless, my Department will continue to keep all relevant legislation under review in order to ensure that borrowers whose loans have been sold are properly protected and do not lose any protections which they previously enjoyed. In addition, the Department of Finance expect that the Central Bank, as regulator of credit servicing firms, will be vigilant in this area and raise any specific instances where they have found consumers have not had their protections upheld or that their positions have been disadvantaged. No such instances have as yet been brought to the attention of the Department.

Finally I would highlight that landlord-tenant relations are governed by multiple pieces of legislation mainly under the aegis of my colleague, the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government.