Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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228. To ask the Minister for Finance if the 1991 code of practice on the transfer of mortgages and section 117 of the Central Bank Act 1989 has been effectively revoked or amended in legislation in order to render either piece of information as inoperable. [26915/17]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, the Code of Practice on the Transfer of Mortgages is a voluntary code which was issued by the Central Bank of Ireland in 1991 to institutions involved in mortgage credit. 

The Code of Practice on the Transfer of Mortgages states that it applies to a loan secured by the mortgage of residential property.  For the purposes of this Code of Practice, residential property is not limited to principal private residences.This Code of Practice can be applied on a voluntary basis by any institution involved in mortgage credit.  A copy of the Code is available at

Section 117 of the Central Bank Act 1989 has not been revoked and is still in force.  Indeed, Section 117 was amended in 2004 by Schedule 3, Part 7 Amendment of Central Bank Act 1989 (Central Bank and Financial Services Authority of Ireland Act 2004 (No. 21)), however this amendment did not in any way render the legislation “inoperable”.

For further information, I refer the Deputy to the Central Bank (Supervision and Enforcement) Act 2013, which introduced a more assertive supervisory approach and overhauled the Central Bank’s powers across a wide range of areas and throughout the regulatory life cycle of firms. It strengthened the ability of the Central Bank to impose and supervise compliance with regulatory requirements and to undertake timely assertive prudential interventions. The Act also provided the Central Bank with greater access to information and analysis and underpins the credible enforcement of financial services legislation in line with international best practice. Section 48 of the 2013 Act gives the Central Bank the power to make regulations for the proper and effective regulation of regulated financial service providers. Borrowers have regulatory protections under 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 in July 2016.