Ciara Conway (Waterford, Labour)

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Private Members' Bill and thank our colleagues for bringing it forward. They must have read the Official Report of past Dáil debates because I raised this issue almost 12 months ago and was invited by the Taoiseach at that time to make a submission on it. The issue had been brought to my attention in my work with MABS about which many Members have spoken in the debate.

When most people look for information their first port of call is Google but if one "Googles" MABS, unregulated debt management agencies are the ones that pop up first. They also advertise themselves as being State sponsored. Both the Financial Regulator and the Department of Finance have expressed grave concern that those firms can do that. In terms of the way they operate, they ask people to forecast how much they are earning and to come up with an on-line plan as to how they will be able to pay back their debt. People do that because it is anonymous. They feel great shame when they are unable to manage their own finances and they submit their details on-line. That is followed up by a call from an agent from one of these firms and it is only then that a cost is discussed.

I do not have any proof but I have been told anecdotally that many of the people who have reinvented themselves as debt management agents are the very people who got our citizens in this trouble in the first place. They were mortgage brokers in a former life. I do not want to be ageist but how many people of my age who entered the property market in the past ten years were told by a mortgage broker that they could rent out a room or two, which would increase their income on paper and allow them to borrow more than they could actually repay? These same individuals have rebranded themselves as debt management agencies and now charge people for the honour and privilege of using their services.

This debate should be used to inform people that the Money Advice and Budgeting Service, MABS, is the only State sponsored and endorsed organisation for dealing with debt. Not even in their wildest dreams would some have believed it would ever become necessary to negotiate with the MABS, a wonderful and professional organisation which is aware of people's needs and handles cases in a most sensitive manner.

Government measures to deliver on the regulation of the debt management sector are welcome but not before time. I commend the Minister for Finance for including debt management agencies within the scope of the Central Bank (Supervision and Enforcement) Bill 2011 because until now such companies have fallen outside the scope of legislation.

People will often choose the services of a debt management company having seen an advertisement on a website because online interaction affords them anonymity. Help is available, however, not only from the Money Advice and Budgeting Service but also from private banks which offer free debt restructuring services. People should seek help as there is no shame in doing so.

While there is a place for regulated companies of this kind in the case of persons who can afford their services, they do not provide an answer for those who do not have resources. Unscrupulous private debt management agencies are taking advantage of some of the most vulnerable families and young people. I welcome the progress made thus far on this issue and will follow with great interest developments in the coming weeks and months.

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