Stanton - Less than 60,000 mortgages now in arrears
The Government is fully engaged, via a range of initiatives already in place and with more on the way, in helping home owners in mortgage arrears to engage with the range of free supports and expertise now available to them with a view to getting solutions in place and, wherever possible, keeping people in their homes, Minister of State David Stanton told the Dáil.
Speaking during a debate on a Fianna Fáil Bill he said take-up is well ahead of expectations on the Personal Insolvency scheme and the new Abhaile services and the data suggested that these measures are operating successfully. “
We expect their impact to continue and to expand significantly over the coming months,” he said.
“For example, a national information campaign to encourage further engagement with Abhaile and take-up of its services, focusing on the local level, is now being finalised and will be rolled out in the coming months.”
He said the correct figure for civil bill repossessions was 633 bills nationwide in the first quarter of 2017. That was according to Courts Service figures.
“This represents a drop of almost 60% from the rate at peak of the first quarter of 2015,” he said.
“I want to put that on the record. Deputy Pearse Doherty and Deputy Michael McGrath both referred to 76,000 to 80,000 home mortgages in arrears. The Central Bank figure is 76,422 home mortgage accounts in arrears at the end of March 2017.”
“The Department of Finance indicates and the Central Bank states that there are an average of 1.3 accounts per mortgaged home,” he said. “
Accordingly the number of homes in any level of mortgage arrears at the end of the first quarter of 2017 is approximately 59,000. It is still an awful lot, but it is not 76,000 or 80,000. The data simply does not support the persistent media claims of an impending tsunami of repossessions. Court repossession statistics are falling steadily and significantly, whether we look at the issuing of new proceedings or the making of possession orders.”