Sir, – The letter by David McCabe on the sale of mortgages by Ulster Bank raises some important issues (May 27th). He suggests that the purchasers of these loans have no loyalty to customers, will act "tough and rough" and seek judgments through the courts, without consideration of the wellbeing of the borrowers. He says it is a replay of the 19th-century evictions.
There may be some similarities with the 19th-century situation where estates changed hands due to unpaid debts, followed by evictions of those with limited title. But courts in those days were not viewed as having the independence and impartiality of today.
Now we have a Constitution that protects the inviolability of the dwelling, and the European Convention on Human Rights Act obliges all organs of the State to respect, among other rights, the right to respect for home. Binding EU consumer law and the European Charter of Fundamental Rights provide a range of protections from arbitrary evictions, and oblige courts to consider many factors before granting such orders.
In March, Ireland transposed the EU mortgage credit directive of 2014, itself enacted to deal with a situation where “a series of problems have been identified in mortgage markets within the Union relating to irresponsible lending and borrowing and the potential scope for irresponsible behaviour by market participants including credit intermediaries and non-credit institutions”. The Irish law that transposed the directive now states,“A creditor shall exercise reasonable forbearance before possession proceedings are initiated and shall, at a minimum, comply with the provisions of any code or similar measure put in place by the Central Bank on the handling of arrears”.
So, today, “acting tough and rough” in the courts, without consideration of the wellbeing of borrowers, would constitute a violation of many laws and rights that are upheld by the Irish courts. It is a very different situation to the 19th-century evictions, is it not? – Yours, etc,
Dr PADRAIC KENNA,
School of Law,
National University
of Ireland Galway.