John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
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172. To ask the Minister for Finance following the publication of the action plan for housing and homelessness four months ago the status of the progress made to date on action 1.19; the progress being made with the Central Bank to ensure the code of conduct in mortgage arrears provides strong consumer protection; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35048/16]

John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
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173. To ask the Minister for Finance following the publication of the action plan for housing and homelessness four months ago the status of the progress made to date on action 1.20; the progress being made with the Central Bank to conduct an assessment of exiting sustainable restructuring solutions across all lenders and non-bank entities operating here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35049/16]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 172 and 173 together.

In relation to Actions 1.19 and 1.20 of the Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness the Deputy will be aware that the Central Bank of Ireland's (The Central Bank) Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears (CCMA) provides a strong consumer protection framework to ensure that each borrower who is struggling to keep up mortgage repayments is treated in a timely, transparent and fair manner by lenders. In this context I wrote to the Governor of the Central Bank to request that an assessment be undertaken of the range of available sustainable restructure solutions offered by banks and non-bank entities and that this assessment should consider in particular how the available options may impact on the distressed borrower's capacity to remain in their primary residence.

The Central Bank has recently submitted its report to me and my officials are currently reviewing it. The report provides valuable insights on the range of available mortgage restructure options offered by banks and non-banks. 

The CCMA is a statutory code under section 117 of the Central Bank Act 1989. The CCMA recognises that it is in the interests of borrowers and lenders to address financial difficulties as speedily, effectively and sympathetically as circumstances allow. The Central Bank has the power to administer sanctions for a contravention of the CCMA under Part IIIC of the Central Bank Act 1942.

Finally, the Deputy should be aware that the numbers in mortgage arrears have been steadily declining. Data released by the Central Bank on 13 September shows that to end-Q2 2016, the number of mortgage accounts in arrears for principal dwelling houses (PDH) has declined for the last twelve quarters. Some 120,614 PDH accounts were also classified as restructured. It is clear that where a borrower actively engages with their lender under the CCMA with a view to agreeing a sustainable arrangement to address their mortgage arrears, it is more likely that an equitable arrangement will be found and that the borrower will be able to remain in their family home.