Minister for Finance informs Government colleagues of continued progress in reducing mortgage arrears in 2024
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From: Department of Finance
- Published on: 11 June 2025
- Last updated on: 11 June 2025
The Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe TD, today welcomed the publication of the Mortgage Arrears Review for 2024. The Minister earlier briefed his Government colleagues on the 2024 Review, a new annual initiative arising from the recommendations of the Mortgage Arears Review Group, which reported in September 2024.
Minister Donohoe said:
“I am very encouraged by the trends which have been highlighted by the mortgage arrears review of 2024. Mortgage arrears continue to decline at a steady pace and have withstood the pressures from the COVID-19 pandemic and the movement in ECB interest rates in recent years. However, these are uncertain and turbulent times and there can be no room for complacency on the part of Government or the Financial Services Industry.”
The Mortgage Arrears Review for 2024 reports on the Central Bank of Ireland’s mortgage arrears statistics for Q4 of 2024 as well as activity under the Abhaile Service, personal insolvency arrangements and the Mortgage-to-Rent process.
At the end of 2024, the overall number of principal dwelling house mortgage accounts in arrears has reduced to 42,384, now below the previously lowest observed level of 46,322 in September 2022. Of these cases, the number of principal dwelling house mortgage accounts in long term arrears (over 1 year) was 19,242 at end December 2024 or 2.8% of all PDH accounts. This is a decline of 1,026 accounts (5.1%) over the year. The number of accounts in early arrears (less than 90 days) was 15,485 at end December 2024 an annual reduction of 17%. Early arrears cases represent 2.2% of all outstanding mortgage accounts on principal dwelling houses.
The Minister added:
“Although mortgage arrears are declining, they remain high by international standards and the Government is committed to fostering further momentum in reducing arrears. The Programme for Government, Securing Ireland’s Future, pledges to continue support for Abhaile, the national mortgage arrears resolution service and ensure the enforcement of the Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears, recently updated as part of the Central Bank of Ireland’s new consumer protection code review.
The Government and its agencies have been active in offering targeted services to distressed mortgage borrowers to assist them in finding a sustainable solution to their situation. The Abhaile Service can provide free access for borrowers to financial, legal, or insolvency advice, depending on their circumstances. The Central Bank of Ireland recently revised its Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears as part of its review of the Consumer Protection Code. The Mortgage-to-Rent Scheme can provide a solution for distressed borrowers who have been unable to find a sustainable solution.
Minister Donohoe concluded:
“I would like to thank the Mortgage Arrears Forum for the first annual review of mortgage arrears. The Forum will monitor the implementation of the recommendations of the Mortgage Arrears Review Group. The annual review of mortgage arrears will report to Government on that progress and on the evolving themes and trends in mortgage arrears. It will provide an important platform to the Government to structure coordinated policy responses to further reduce mortgage arrears.”
ENDS
NOTES FOR EDITORS
Notes for Editors
- In September 2023, the Mortgage Arrears Review Group was tasked by the then Minister for Finance, Michael McGrath TD, to review the operation of the mortgage arrears resolution framework and identify any reforms or improvements that could be made to better address the problem of long term mortgage arrears and emerging early arrears. The report of the Mortgage Arrears Review Group was published by Minister for Finance Jack Chambers in September 2023.
- The Mortgage Arrears Review Group comprised senior officials from the Department of Finance, the Department of the Justice, the Department of Social Protection and the Department of Housing, Local Government and heritage. The Central Bank of Ireland, the Money Advice and Budgeting Service and the Insolvency Service of Ireland also participated.
- The central finding of the review group was that the mortgage arrears framework works well for those borrowers who engage with their lenders and with the available independent debt advice from MABS and from Personal Insolvency Practitioners. The evidence of the reduction in long-term mortgage arrears since 2013 points to the success of the framework.
- There is a significant issue of non-engagement with the framework by a particular cohort of borrowers in long-term arrears. Addressing this issue will be a challenging task which will require close monitoring of the impact of several reforms to elements of the framework that are already underway.
- Among the report’s recommendations was the establishment of an interdepartmental Mortgage Arrears Forum to monitor the implementation of the recommendations of the report and to assess the success of the framework in resolving mortgage arrears.
- The Mortgage Arears Forum has committed to producing an annual review of the trends in the resolution of mortgage arrears for the Minister for Finance and for the information of the Government.
Useful links for information about tackling mortgage arrears
Report of the Mortgage Arrears Review Group