Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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159. To ask the Minister for Finance his views on a matter (details supplied). [46476/18]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I note the Deputy’s question on behalf of his constituent in relation to the tracker mortgage issue and the matter of local public banking.

As the Deputy will be aware, my Department, along with the Department of Rural and Community Development, published a Report on Local Public Banking at the beginning of July this year. The findings of the Report are that there was not a compelling business case to justify the provision of approximately €170 million of Exchequer funding to establish a new system of local public banking, based on the model considered.

However, the Government is committed to examining how the concept and objectives of local public /community banking may be furthered in Ireland. This will be through an independent evaluation and stakeholder forum. My Department will carry out a tender process for an external agency to carry out the independent evaluation and stakeholder forum and the terms of reference have been finalised, with input from stakeholders. I anticipate that the completed tender documents will be with the Office of Government Procurement (OGP) in the near future and expect that the tender process will be complete by January 2019.

Irish Rural Link, along with the Savings Bank Foundation for International Cooperation, the international development wing of the Sparkassen Group, put forward a proposal and strategic plan for a potential model of local public banking for Ireland, based on the German model that was considered in the Report. This I would ask the Deputy to draw his constituent’s attention to Irish Rural Link’s response to the Report on Local Public Banking, which is available on Irish Rural Link’s website:

This response states that “... it is not proposed that the mortgage market would be a priority of the local public bank...” and that “... providing lower rate mortgages is a goal but not a priority of the model...”

Regarding the tracker mortgage examination, as the Deputy is aware the Central Bank is working to ensure that the tracker mortgage examination is completed as soon as possible. The Bank is producing regular updates of progress on its website, the most recent being published on the 25 April 2018:

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Since then, the Governor of the Central Bank provided some updated information at his recent appearance before the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach. The Governor indicated that at end-August, 38,400 customers have now been identified in the tracker examination and that some 93% of affected customers have received offers of redress and compensation. Also it was indicated that four of five main lenders are close to completing their redress and compensation phases and that the Central Bank is exerting pressure on the remaining lender to finish its process. The Central Bank has also advised that it is currently pursuing enforcement investigations against all of the main lenders.

The Government has made it clear that they will continue to support the Central Bank’s work to conclude the Tracker Mortgage Examination as quickly as possible, and to see all impacted customers provided with redress and compensation.