Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)

The Minister for Social and Family Affairs recently said he was alarmed to find that so many poor people are in the grip of money lenders. He went on to say that the scale of the problem was alarming, given that the clients of the Money Advice and Budgeting Service are in debt this year to the tune of €65 million. The Minister said this was outrageous. In case the Taoiseach missed the interview, here is what the Minister said:

I've just discovered that a whole range of these people who are in debt, it's a new kind of debt. In the old days, it was money lenders, a back street kind of thing, but today these are official legal lenders and in one case they were charging 39% interest to people who were borrowing to pay for First Communion, bereavements, Christmas, family events or just to pay their rent.

He also said: "At the start of the 21st century, we still have an underbelly of debt in this country and I have instructed my Department to prepare legislation on this." The Minister went on to say that he was taking legal advice as to whether, in drawing up the new legislation, "outrageous and totally unacceptable rates of up to 39% can be curbed or even banned". I ask the Taoiseach when this legislation will appear.

I am delighted the Minister for Social and Family Affairs can be with us. I met a woman in Cork last week who told me that every time the Minister, Deputy Brennan, gives a television interview, her dog licks the television set.

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