Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have only been married once, and thank God he is still with me. My first washing machine came from the ESB shop in Ballyfermot. It was a shame that the ESB abandoned those little shops because they were a lifeline for people wanting to buy a cooker, washing machine or whatever. I am not that old but we did not have many fridges at that time. People could buy a washing machine or cooker from that little shop and when it closed, it was a tough time for many who did not have the cash in hand. Mr. Bolger in Inchicore, whom Deputy Conaghan will know, supplied everyone who moved into St. Michael's estate with their fridges and cookers, all of which were second hand but they got us over the hump in the road. I always believed it was a bad decision by the ESB to close those shops and leave people stranded because that is when moneylenders came on the scene and devoured those people, so to speak, who would normally go to the ESB shop and pay a rate for the product they could afford.

I compliment the people who run the citizens advice bureaus. They are very dedicated. Many of them are volunteers and are not paid, yet the information they have not only in their head but to hand is amazing. I turn to them myself on occasions when I am bothered about something.

Thousands of people do not have a loan with a credit union but there must be some channel through which such people can deal with a problem that might arise. I refer to the awful event of someone passing away and people not having enough money to deal with that. That can be very traumatic for people.

I congratulate Ms Mangan on her proposed appointment as chairperson. As the Minister said, we have done something right. In her capacity as the new chairperson of the Citizens Information Board, is there any way that information on moneylending could be highlighted for people who come into her office? I have sent many people who come to see me in my constituency office to the Money Advice & Budgeting Service, whose staff are brilliant, but we should talk to those people about the process of borrowing money from moneylenders, some of whom are criminals.

A long time ago when I was on the council, I dealt with a girl who had given over her children's allowance book. The moneylenders used to escort her to the post office, stand outside as she collected her money and then take it from her. It was a horrific time for that family. Perhaps Ms Mangan can comment on that.