The Central Bank has no records of how many mortgages have been sold to so-called 'vulture funds,' it has emerged.

These funds are unregulated by the Central Bank, the Independent reports, meaning homeowners in arrears would not have full protection under its code of conduct and could be mistreated.

Finance Minister Michael Noonan admitted that the Central Bank does not keep records of mortgage sales. He estimates sales number between 8,000 and 10,000, though the figure may be considerably higher.

In the Dail, Fianna Fail's Michael McGrath requested details on loan funds that bought residential mortgages.

Noonan replied: "In general, the Central Bank has no role in approving the sale or transfer of loan books to third parties, and it has no data available at this time on the number and book value of such sales or transfers for the period requested."

McGrath said people whose mortgages were in the hands of these funds are in a "legal no-man's land":

"It is deeply disturbing that we don't have a clear picture of the number of mortgages that have been sold to unregulated third parties."

The lack of data is a result of a gap in existing legislation, according to the bank. The government says it will introduce protection such as the arrears code, but it has not yet been enacted.

Thousands of home loans have been sold by the IRBC, Permanent TSM, Bank of Ireland and GE Money. A number of these, though not regulated by the Central Bank,have agreed to operate by its code of conduct.