James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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331. To ask the Minister for Finance to examine a matter affecting Irish mortgage holders (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46779/24]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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Creditors have the general right to assign or sell their benefits and rights under an existing credit agreement to another creditor, without changing the debtor's obligations and rights as also set out in the particular agreement or as subsequently agreed.

Therefore, when a creditor's benefits under a credit agreement are sold to another entity, the terms of that particular agreement remain in place and do not change, subject to any relevant modifications such as in relation to scheduled repayments or the overall repayment amount as may be agreed with the creditor prior to the sale.

In addition, the entity which acquires the legal rights of creditor under a credit contract with a consumer or who services such an agreement will also fall within the regulatory remit of the Central Bank. This is set out in the Consumer Protection (Regulation of Credit Servicing Firms) Acts 2015 to 2022 and the European Union (Credit Servicers and Credit Purchasers) Regulations 2023.

Accordingly the various Central Bank consumer protection codes, such as the Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears (CCMA) and other regulatory protections will also apply after the loan sale.

Separately, in line with accountancy and regulatory requirements, a company is required to keep proper books of account which give a true and fair view of its financial affairs, including the value of its revenue and assets such as where applicable its loan receivables.

Therefore, if an entity considers that it may not recover the full amount of the benefits due to it under a particular agreement, or if it has no further legal right to repayments under the agreement due to, for example, its sale of the loan to another creditor, it may, for financial reporting purposes, be obliged to ‘write down’ the loan or ‘write off’ the amount it considers it will not be repaid.

However, that does not of itself affect the legal rights and obligations of either the creditor or the debtor, including the debtor’s obligation to repay the loan in line with the current contractual terms or other outstanding legal obligations. Therefore, unless any such ‘write off’ also involves an express agreement between the debtor and the relevant creditor for a reduction in the amount of debt owed, the ‘write off’ of debt for accountancy purposes will not impact on the debtor’s liability to repay the outstanding debt amount to the particular creditor which is entitled to receive that amount.