Ms Caroline Fahy:

The role of personal debt is a very important one in terms of what our members are seeing. People may prioritise loans from, for example, moneylenders over and above paying for their food and utilities, and they will come to us for help with those. It often does not emerge until after a few visits, having looked at a person's income and outgoings, that we find there is a grey area, which is often the debt people are trying to pay off. Our colleagues in the Vincentian Partnership have found that the majority of people on a social welfare payment and many of those in low-paid work do not have enough income for a minimum essential standard of living, so there is a gap between the money they are taking in and what they need. Again, that results in debt.

Those who would traditionally never have expected to go to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul for help are often those who have lost businesses or lost employment and who have debt left over as part of that. People really do want to keep a roof over their heads.

That would often be their main concern.

One of the issues that arises in respect of, for example, utility debt is where people do not have a say - in terms of the accommodation in which they live - in using prepay meters in order to pay off their debts by €2, €3 or €10 per week. Individuals are almost being coerced into taking on repayment plans for energy debt which lead to them not having enough money to manage the remainder of their household expenses. Again, such plans can fall apart, the utility companies will not be paid and people's energy supplies will be placed at risk. As a result, they end up coming to us for assistance. Debt is one of those issues we need to consider addressing in a more comprehensive fashion.