Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

On Monday evening at the end of the Labour Party away day, I went to a MABS office that was not too far from where the away day was held. I spent something like two hours sitting down with the ten staff in that office to discuss the kind of cases that feature in the report. What the Deputy may not know and what Sinn Féin probably does not know is that the Department of Social Protection allocates a budget of €47 million per year to the CIB and MABS. That is significant in the current circumstances. It allocates it precisely because we want and I want a service for families who find it difficult for a number of reasons to manage budgets and families and individuals who end up with severe debts. The Deputy probably knows that credit was relatively easily available from some credit unions and, unfortunately, there are people who have legacy debt issues of the kind that we all know about.

I regularly talk to people in MABS offices. As recently as Tuesday evening, I spent nearly two hours in the MABS office talking to the staff - the money advisors - and getting their take on where things are at the moment because they are the people dealing with the cases. What they told me was very clear, that things are improving - I do not think they are improving quickly enough - which is why today's figures are so positive in terms of growth. This growth is not fuelled by a credit bubble because this is one of the reasons why MABS has so many people. Last year, it answered about 25,000 telephone inquiries and there was a similar number of case callers to the MABS offices. Some Sinn Féin Deputies would know about it. Deputy Ellis would know about the very detailed work the MABS office does for people in Finglas to help people rebuild their budgets and get into things like the household budgeting system so that debt is not a problem. Things are improving. The report to which the Deputy referred relates to 2013. We have already seen from the CSO that the figures have improved.

The single best thing I can do for people calling to the MABS service and their families and communities is to help them get back to work. This is what I have been doing. Today's report about growth in the economy really helps those families because it is not fuelled by a credit bubble as was the last growth period which got many of those families into debt. Instead, it is fuelled by actual output, selling our goods in Ireland and abroad and in particular, growing employment and businesses.

I welcome the MABS report which provides good information in the run-up to the budget. I will ensure the members of the Economic Management Council and the other members of the Government will read it. I hope all Oireachtas Members will take the time to read it in detail.

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