Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We all make mistakes, but it is quite a big one in the report that 77% of respondents, of 500 people surveyed, suggested they had been refused credit. Today, the Central Bank confirmed the figure was 25%. It is quite a big difference and I am surprised at the information. I am glad that it has been corrected, but the written report should also be corrected.

During the debate on Committee Stage of the Credit Reporting Bill I was pushing to have moneylenders come under the terms of the Credit Reporting Bill, but it has not happened. In the Central Bank documents some 95% of moneylenders do not have access to the external credit history database to check the credit history of applicants. The report states, "Regulation 11 of the European Communities (Consumer Credit Agreements) Regulations 2010 requires a creditor to assess a customers’ creditworthiness on the basis of sufficient information, where appropriate obtained from the customer and, where necessary, on the basis of consultation of the relevant database". Moneylenders are completely in breach of the spirit of the regulation and it is clear from the evidence in the report that only 5% are accessing the credit history database, with the rest having conversations with people on the doorstep. Half of the people concerned are not asked for documentary proof that they are in employment or proof of their financial position. With the deepest of respect to Mr. Sheridan, with whom I have engaged on moneylending practices and whistleblowers, the Central Bank has approached this sector with kid gloves. This part of the report is evidence of that.