Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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224. To ask the Minister for Finance if he is considering banning price differentiation between new and existing mortgage customers; if so, the timeline he is working towards for introduction of the necessary legislation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3333/23]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The type of mortgages offered by different categories of Central Bank regulated entity is a commercial matter for each individual lender, as is the interest rate they charge.

Notwithstanding this, as part of its Consumer Protection framework the Central Bank has put in place a range of measures in order to protect consumers who take out or have a mortgage. The consumer protection framework seeks to ensure that lenders are transparent and fair in all their dealings with borrowers and that borrowers are protected from the beginning to the end of the mortgage life cycle.

The consumer protection framework seeks to ensure that lenders are transparent and fair in all their dealings with borrowers and that borrowers are protected from the beginning to the end of the mortgage life cycle, for example, through protections at the initial marketing/advertising stage, in assessing the affordability and suitability of the mortgage and at a time when borrowers may find themselves in financial difficulties. This consumer protection framework includes the various Central Bank statutory Codes of Conduct such as the Consumer Protection Code 2012 and the Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears 2013. All regulated entities, including retail credit firms and credit servicing firms, are required to comply with the provisions of these codes in their dealings with consumers.

The Consumer Protection Code sets out certain transparency obligations on regulated entities when offering mortgages to consumers. In particular it provides that, where a regulated entity offers an incentive to a personal consumer, the must provide the personal consumer with the information needed to consider the offer.

This information must quantify the implications for the personal consumer of availing of the incentive including an indicative cost comparison of the total cost of the mortgage if they do not avail of the incentive and the cost of the mortgage if they avail of the incentive. This is an important consumer protection, and it will help ensure that the consumer is informed of the advantages of any incentive compared to a situation where the incentive is not provided or taken up.

This particular issue was also considered in the Banking Review which concluded last year. The Review noted that cashback offers have been a feature of the Irish mortgage market since 2015 and it considered that cashback offers provide valuable choice for some consumers and can assist with some of the other costs that come with purchasing a house.

The Review Team noted the existing Consumer Protection Code transparency requirements in this area, including the measures in place to support switching or mortgages and it did not recommend any further regulatory measure in this area.

I will of course continue to liaise closely with the Central Bank in relation to all aspects of its statutory functions, such as that in relation to consumer protection, but I do not have any plans to propose any additional regulatory or legislative measures in this area at this time.