Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate that. I appreciate Ms O'Connor's comments that MABS supports the principle of this Bill. I have outlined the changes I would like to see but could the witness describe to the committee the kind of cycle of debt that borrowers and some of the MABS clients fall into as a result of interest charged by moneylenders? Could she expand on that?

There is also the issue mentioned by Mr. Farrell that if moneylenders are capped, that will force them into illegal sources of credit. Ms O'Connor has rejected this argument as well. Perhaps she will elaborate on that point, which is important.

What is also important, and it is wider than this but so central to it as well, is the point she made in her opening statement about the broader set of policies that are required to promote financial inclusion and tackle financial exclusion. I note the excellent and comprehensive Building the Box report, compiled and published by National Traveller MABS in September 2020. It is important reading for all of us as legislators. The Government has not published a financial inclusion strategy for the past decade and that is something the committee needs to pursue. Quite frankly, it is a disgrace. My proposal provides for a cap on the interest moneylenders can charge over a three-year period, but it also allows for ancillary policies to be implemented such as some of those Ms O'Connor signalled in her opening statement. Can she outline what some of those policies should be?