Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

There are two issues. At a time when there is an embargo on recruitment, we were lucky to secure 12 positions. We have divided them among the MABS offices with the greatest increase in demand. I was also a little taken aback by the comments of the Comptroller and Auditor General on the number of cases being dealt with by MABS. I have witnessed the work that is being done. The Comptroller and Auditor General did not take account of the huge increase in the number of people who are dealt with on the telephone. Some 18,000 people, the vast majority of whom had straightforward issues that could be dealt with over the telephone, have called MABS so far this year. More complex cases need to be dealt with differently. The staff of MABS on the ground are genuinely trying to prioritise those with the greatest need. If someone is in a particularly difficult situation with priority loans, rather than secondary loans or debts, he or she will be dealt with immediately. MABS also has ongoing money management clients from year to year. I have suggested that there may be a way of putting such people at arm's length, perhaps by meeting them fortnightly rather than weekly, to ensure that the new catchment of people who are coming in can be dealt with.

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