Eugene Murphy (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail)
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199. To ask the Minister for Finance his views on a matter (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16393/17]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy will be aware that the Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears (CCMA) provides a strong consumer protection framework to ensure that borrowers in financial difficulty are treated in a timely, transparent, and fair manner by regulated entities. It applies to the mortgage loan of a borrower which is secured by his/her primary residence. It sets out how regulated entities must treat borrowers in or facing mortgage arrears, with due regard to the fact that each case of mortgage arrears is unique and needs to be considered on its own merits. All such cases must be handled sympathetically and positively by the lender, with the objective at all times of assisting the borrower to meet his/her mortgage obligations.

I am informed by the Central Bank that while the CCMA does not provide a definition for "own merits", a regulated entity must use the standard financial statement prescribed in the CCMA to obtain financial information from a borrower in arrears or in pre-arrears. The CCMA requires that a regulated entity's Arrears Support Unit must base its assessment on the full circumstances of each individual borrower, including:

- personal circumstances;

- overall indebtedness;

- the information provided in the standard financial statement;

- current repayment capacity; and

- previous repayment history

In addition, each regulated entity must consider the borrower's situation in the context of the solutions they provide. I draw the Deputy's attention to the most recent Mortgage Arrears and Restructures Data released by the Central Bank on 16 March, which showed that to end-Q4 2016, the number of Principal Dwelling House (PDH) mortgage accounts in arrears has declined for the past fourteen quarters.  Almost 121,000 PDH accounts were also classified as restructured, of which 87% were reported to be meeting the terms of their arrangement. This indicates that where borrowers actively engage with their lender under the CCMA,  it is more likely that an equitable arrangement will be found and that the borrower will be able to remain in their family home.