Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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283. To ask the Minister for Finance if he will review the case of (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54988/22]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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There are a number of legal and regulatory requirements governing the provision of mortgage credit to a consumer.

The primary aim of the Central Bank macro prudential mortgage lending measures is to prevent the emergence of an unsustainable relationship between credit and house prices, and also to support the resilience of lenders, borrowers and the broader economy. These measures, subject to a certain level of discretion available to lenders, set proportionate limits on the amount of credit which can be provided for the purchase of a residential property.

Certain limits apply to both 'first time buyers' and to 'second and subsequent buyers' and, as the Deputy will be aware, following the outcome of a recent comprehensive review of the rules, new lending measures will apply from the start of next year. The Deputy may wish to note that, as part of these changes, the Central Bank will change the definition of 'first time buyer' for the purpose of these rules so that it will now include borrowers who are divorced or separated (or have undergone bankruptcy or insolvency) where they no longer have an interest in the property in respect of which the borrower previously had a mortgage.

Separate from these mortgage lending measures, regulated entities are also required to comply with certain other requirements in relation to the provision of mortgage credit. For example, the European Union (Consumer Mortgage Credit Agreements) Regulations 2016 place a requirement on lenders to assess the creditworthiness of the consumer and furthermore indicate that lenders shall only make credit available where the result of the creditworthiness assessment indicates that the consumer's obligations resulting from the credit agreement are likely to be met in the manner required under that agreement.

In addition, the Central Bank’s Consumer Protection Code 2012 requires regulated entities to carry out affordability and suitability assessments, prior to offering, recommending, arranging or providing a credit product to a personal consumer.

However, within the parameters of this regulatory framework, the decision to grant or refuse an individual application for credit (or the decision on the amount of credit to provide) is a commercial matter for the regulated mortgage lender having regard to their own lending policies and neither I nor the Central Bank have a role in such matters.

Also where there is more than one borrower who is party to a credit agreement, the respective liability of each of those borrowers for the loan will be a contractual matter as provided for in the credit agreement and the removal of one of those parties from a mortgage agreement is a matter governed by the terms of the particular contract and contract law more generally.

However, it can also be noted that, if a mortgage applicant or an existing mortgage borrower is not satisfied with how a regulated firm is dealing with them, or they believe that the regulated firm is not following the requirements of the Central Bank’s codes and regulations or other financial services law, they should make a complaint directly to the regulated firm. If they are still not satisfied with the response from the regulated firm, they can refer the complaint to the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman.