Paudge Connolly (Cavan-Monaghan, Independent)

I am sure the Minister will agree that the level of debt at this time of the year inevitably leads to a major debate about access to credit and credit card limits. It has been reported that an additional €166 million was spent last Christmas. While that may be good for business, people will eventually suffer if their purchases are made using credit cards. Total debt for December stood at €1.2 billion. Given that credit card debt has increased by 15.8% over the last year, does the Minister intend to introduce any measures to control the credit limits which are offered by banks to card holders? Does he have any proposals to deal with non-mortgage credit, which increased by 31.7% in December 2006? Does he appreciate the inflationary effects of increased credit card debt and its potential dangers for the economy? Does the Minister have any plans to control total lending in the economy, which increased by €59 billion in 2006? Does the Minister agree that excessive credit card limits encourage people to live beyond their means? Misery is heaped on people when their credit card bills are pushed through their letter boxes, particularly at this time of the year. The banks dream about people who are bad at managing their money because they made their real money from such cases.

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