Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I accept the comments by Deputy Pearse Doherty. One of the problems is lack of information. Since the development of the Department of Social Protection's arrangements with the credit unions to provide for small scale loans, the credit unions have advertised them, but I am not aware of the local authorities having done so. There has been a strong and solid uptake of that scheme, which is a great opportunity for those who need to borrow smallish sums of money for various family purposes. In particular, coming up to Christmas, it helps to keep people out of the clutches of money lenders. The Minister for Finance might speak to the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government and the Minister for Social Protection about the need for information that is easily accessible in county offices such as the banners and information leaflets on the loan scheme in the credit unions using the scheme. This would encourage people to avail of it. Many people borrow to make refurbishments to their homes, but do not get any support when doing it. If they get the home in the condition they want, given that they have long-stay tenancies, it is also very nice that, as noted by Deputy Michael McGrath, they may, particularly if they are working, opt to purchase the house. If they continue to rent, they may stay long-term in the estate, thus adding to the stability of the estate and to the success of social housing.

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