Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

The IBF is a regulatory body. All the groundwork was done with the IBF and this means there is an established protocol. A financial institution that is not a member of the IBF indicated immediately that it would sign up to the protocol. Any institution can sign up to the protocol within days now that the work has been done on it. This is equally the case with the credit unions, but one should remember MABS has a very positive relationship with the credit unions anyway.

The Deputy was correct about the extended loans people have and the difficulties they face in managing them. It is very worrying to consider the average debt people have incurred. This, in itself, has increased. This time last year, it was €12,500 while it was €7,500 just before that. Now the figure has risen to €14,500. Therefore, the people who are contacting MABS this year have more extended debt in all sorts of areas than those who were doing so even last year or the year theretofore.

When one examines this debt, one notes it is not generally constituted of loans from the main mortgage lenders, as we often believe, but of personal loans. Personal credit is the main form of debt and I accept it is much more difficult for people to manage than other forms of debt. MABS is doing a very good job in this area.

I am delighted at least one sub-prime lender and another financial institution immediately took up the invitation to sign up to the protocol. We will work to ensure that the others do so also.

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