Chairperson of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Affairs, Dominic Hannigan, has today welcomed the agreement on the new Mortgage Credit Directive between the Irish EU Presidency, the European Parliament and the European Council.

The directive is set to come into force in 2015 for all EU member states and will set out a new set of rules and standards for mortgages. Lenders will be required to provide clear, standardised information on advertising and terms and conditions. The new directive will set out tougher measures on credit assessment for mortgages and new regulation for mortgage brokers.

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Mr Hannigan said: "The just agreed upon directive will provide a new level of regulation and security in mortgage lending. Consumers will be better informed and will have more rights, in addition to new standard of credit assessment and increased competition for consumers by allowing credit intermediaries to operate across borders.

"We understand better in Ireland than any other EU country how deregulation and recklessness in credit-lending for mortgages can damage an economy. With the new Mortgage Credit Directive we will see greater protection of consumers. This agreement is a major milestone for the Irish EU Presidency as it marks the completion of one its main aims."

(CD)