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BORROWERS IN DISTRESS because of mortgage repayments will be able to avail of free and independent financial advice later this month.
Social Protection Minister Joan Burton announced the initiative this morning, stating the cost of the service will be met “wholly by the banks and other lending institutions”.
The advice will be provided by a panel of about 1,000 accountants drawn from the main institutes in Ireland who have agreed to participate. They will be available from mid-September to complement the new Citizens Information Board Mortgage Arrears Information Helpline and website, keepingyourhome.ie.
Mortgage holders who have been offered long-term resolution proposals will be eligible to receive the independent financial advice for free because the lender will pay the €250 fee. The choice of accountant still rests with the borrower.
Burton said the cost of the initiative could be up to €10 million, depending on the number of people who take up the new element of the Mortgage Arrears Information and Advice Service.
Long-term forbearance plans can include split mortgages, trade-downs, mortgage-to-rent and long-term interest only. The accountant and the borrower will be able to discuss each option over a number of meetings.
The number of mortgages in arrears in Ireland rose to its highest level to date last month with almost 130,000 home loans in trouble of some kind. More than 10 per cent of total private residential mortgages are in arrears of at least 90 days, an increase of about 5,600 in just five months.
“The Government is fully aware that there are no quick fixes or a one-size-fits-all solution to the mortgage debt problem,” Burton added. “Each family in mortgage arrears faces unique difficulties and we must have a range of solutions which can be adapted to resolve each family’s difficulties.
Encouraging people experiencing difficulties to contact their lender, she said the “key message is engagement”.
The Government is acutely aware of the difficulties that many households are facing in meeting their mortgage repayments and addressing these difficulties is at the forefront of Government’s agenda.
An operating protocol for the provision of this advice has been agreed between the accountancy bodies, the Institute of Chartered Accountants Ireland, the Association of Certified Chartered Accountants, the Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the lenders. The general scope of the advice will be limited to the borrower’s principal private residence. A review of how it is working will be carried out next June.
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The media has a a vitally important democratic function to perform in making Trump and his current administration fully visible.
Media exposure will highlight what Trump is about.
@Johnny Leddin: only Trump worries about thumbs. It is his downfall.
@Tony Daly: like they did with clinton…right…
Exactly like Clinton. He was hounded by the media after his affair in office.
The media should be treated with contempt!
What do reporters think the new administration is playing at?…to me it seems like some sort of Bond plot where the obvious is a diversion to what is really going on…there are bigger things cooking in the background which they don’t want us to know about.
@winston smith: the focus is on Trump’s temperament at the moment and the increasing realisation that Trump is temperamentally unsuitable to be President of the US.
@Tony Daly: is that a fact or just your anti trump opinion….
Trump won because of a fawning uncritical ratings-driven media which gave him billions in free publicity.
@Were Jammin: he won because hillary took her eye of the ball and wouldn’t listen to the fears many people have in the US regarding immigration..she just called them all deplorables. That is a fact
@Were Jammin: he won because hillary took her eye of the ball and wouldn’t listen to the fears many people have in the US regarding immigration..she just called them all deplorables. That is a fact
@Were Jammin: Trump won because the media were uncritical of him – are you on drugs?
The media is ‘temperamentally unsuitable’ to cover the White House.
What’s most fascinating about this article is the constant use of “said one reporter” for even the most mundane observation. Did The Journal not get their names, or did the reporters insist on strict anonymity for reasons beyond my ken; or, more troublingly, does The Journal imagine itself a Player in DC political media who needs to keep their “sources” secret lest Trump’s team read this article?
The Media is frantically trying to do an about-face. From the time “President” nominated, they fawned over him because he gave them lots of meat and potatoes, encouraged by Murdoch, Kochs etc… Then, against all the pundits and odds, he became POTUS. 60+ days in, and the media are looking at themselves in horror, that they facilitated this Con Man get the Oval Office. Now, they’re falling over themselves to get him and his misbegotten, incompetent hangers-on out. There is enough blame to go around, so the media have now to start doing things right.
Surprised the Journal was allowed in.
You cannot hope to bribe or twist – thank God! – the average journalist…
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