Patrick Costello (Dublin South Central, Green Party)
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160. To ask the Minister for Finance when the EU's 'Right to be Forgotten' clause for cancer survivors as applied consumer credit will be placed on a legislative setting in the State. [41117/23]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Financial Consumer Protection Roadmap, which was published by my Department on 13 September, addresses this issue in the context of the consumer protection framework available in Ireland.

A revised Consumer Credit Directive is at an advanced stage in the European legislative process. It was agreed between EU co-legislators earlier this year. The legislation will cover certain credit agreements of up to €100,000. The text is being finalised and translated before it is published in the Official Journal of the EU.

The directive enters into force on the 20th day after its publication in the Official Journal of the EU. Ireland, like other Member States, will have 2 years to adopt necessary laws and administrative provisions and 3 years to apply them.

Article 14 of the revised directive currently states:

“Member States shall require that personal data concerning consumers’ diagnoses of oncological diseases are not used for the purpose of an insurance policy related to a credit agreement after a period of time determined by the Member States, not exceeding 15 years following the end of their medical treatment.”

This means Member States should require that the insurance policies are not based on personal data concerning consumers’ diagnosis of oncological diseases health data of consumers after a relevant period of time following the end of the consumer’s medical treatment of those consumers. Such a period of time, which will be determined by each Member State during the transposition of the Directive into national law, should not exceed a period of 15 years, starting from the end of the medical treatment of the consumer.

Patrick Costello (Dublin South Central, Green Party)
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161. To ask the Minister for Finance what actions he has taken to prevent discrimination by financial institutions in providing mortgage protection to individuals who have had previous illnesses, such as cancer; what options such individuals have to seek mortgage protection and a mortgage; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41118/23]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 161 and 185 together.

The Financial Consumer Protection Roadmap, which was published by my Department on 13 September 2023, addressed this issue in the context of the consumer protections available in Ireland.

Firstly, the Deputy should note that in June of this year Insurance Ireland and its members published a Code of Practice for Underwriting Mortgage Protection Insurance for Cancer Survivors, which is expected to be operational by the end of the 2023.

Insurers will disregard a cancer diagnosis where treatment ended more than 7 years prior to application (or more than 5 years if the applicant was under 18 at the time of diagnosis). The Code will apply to mortgage cover applications of up to €500,000 for a principal private residence. Insurance Ireland estimates that this threshold covers over 90 per cent of mortgage protection policies in the market. My officials continue to engage with Insurance Ireland regarding the implementation of the Code, and will closely monitor the outcomes.

It may also interest the Deputy to know that that in order to assist clients who have had difficulty acquiring life cover due to a pre-existing illness, Brokers Ireland has published a register containing contact details of Brokers who have experience in advising on life cover in this area. This is available at: brokersireland.ie/life-cover-pre-existing-illnesses/.

The Department of Finance is also closely monitoring work by the European Commission to develop a Code of Conduct on access to financial services for cancer survivors, by early 2024. This objective is set out in ‘Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan’ which was published in 2021, and includes an initiative for 2021-2023 to “Address fair access for cancer survivors to financial services (including insurance), via a code of conduct and a reflection on long-term solutions”.

Through ‘Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan’, the Commission will closely examine practices in the area of financial services (including insurance) from the point of view of fairness towards cancer survivors in long-term remission. The Commission will engage in dialogue with businesses to develop a code of conduct to ensure that developments in cancer treatments and their improved effectiveness are reflected in the business practices of financial service providers to ensure that only necessary and proportionate information is used when assessing the eligibility of applicants for financial products, notably credit and insurance linked to credit or loan agreements.

In ‘Europe's Beating Cancer Plan: Implementation Roadmap’, the timeline for the objective “Address fair access for cancer survivors to financial services” is as follows: 2021 - Study on situation in Member States; 2022 - Stakeholder engagement, additional studies; 2023 Draft Code of conduct; 2024 Code agreed, with the Code of Conduct established in 2024.

In relation to cases where a person has been refused a mortgage by a bank or another Central Bank regulated mortgage provider, eligible borrowers, including where the applicant can provide proof of insufficient mortgage offers of finance from two regulated financial providers, can apply to the Local Authority Home Loan Scheme, which falls within the remit of the Department of Housing Local Government and Heritage.