Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

If it is 128% APR, it is still significantly high. The Minister of State is saying we need to strike a balance; that if we reduce it too much, we could scare people out of the market. He mentioned Provident has withdrawn. What calculations has he done to suggest that rate is the appropriate rate? All of the experts, including the Social Finance Foundation, have told us that this rate should be reduced further. They have told us that what we need to try and do is funnel people into It Makes Sense loans in the credit union and the basic loans from the credit union as well.