13 October 2015
By Elaine Murphy
elaine@TheCork.ie
Fine Gael TD for Cork South West, Jim Daly, has noted the Department of Finance data for August revealing that long term mortgage arrears have decreased for four months in a row.
“After a lengthy period of economic crisis in this country, things are finally on the up again. Testament to that are the latest Department of Finance figures showing that long term mortgage arrears have decreased for a fourth consecutive month.
“Long term mortgage arrears started falling back in May; the first decrease since the crisis. The latest figures for August show that they have continued to decrease since then, showing clearly that Government policies on mortgage arrears are working.
“However long term mortgage arrears still account for 38% of accounts in arrears, so there is still a lot of work to do on this issue. The rising economy and the job creation success story of this Government will play a big part in this, with more and more families getting back on track after the period of economic recession.
“As well as the general economic recovery, a number of key Government initiatives are helping to reduce long term mortgage arrears:
· In December 2012 the Personal Insolvency Bill was signed into law, introducing new debt settlement arrangements
· In March 2013 the Central Bank introduced mortgage arrears targets for the main banks
· In April 2013 the Insolvency Service of Ireland launched a public information campaign.
“I encourage the Central Bank to continue to monitor its targets for the banks and the Insolvency Service of Ireland should also continue engaging with mortgage holders to oversee a continued reduction in long term arrears.
“The Government will continue working hard on its plan to secure the economic recovery and ensure that more families will feel the benefit, helping them to free themselves of the stranglehold of mortgage arrears.”
