Eugene Murphy (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I support the Bill. I spoke earlier this evening to Deputy Pearse Doherty and am glad Fianna Fáil is supporting the legislation as a party. It is extremely sad that in the run-up to Christmas, there are people in every small and large town who tonight and in the coming days will take out small loans to cover certain expenses. They will pay very dearly for those loans. I have come across a number of situations over the years which have involved these moneylenders. Moneylenders do not give out money for the good of their health. They are out to make money. We must look after people who are in very difficult circumstances and who are sometimes afraid to speak out. They may quietly make contact with an illegal moneylender and take out a loan for family reasons. In recent months, I came across a person who borrowed €600 with an APR of 187%. It is extraordinary. I have the facts of the case. In other cases, I have seen people paying out 80% or 90% interest on those loans. We must get back to ensuring credit unions can look after those people. In some areas, credit unions which could once have looked after people locally face increasingly complicated circumstances. The administrative burden imposed on them by the State and the Central Bank is definitely causing difficulties and people are suffering.

It is unacceptable that we cannot bring this issue under control as legislators. This type of lending is widespread, in particular at this time of year. It is a type of predatory lending. It is illegal and the people involved are predators. I recall speaking to someone a few months ago about the experience she had some years ago when she encountered family difficulties. She had four children. She had to get a loan from one of the loan sharks but ran into difficulty even though the repayment was only £10 a week.

It might seem a small sum but it was enormous for that lady. While those moneylenders did not threaten the woman with violence, they turned up every single evening, day after day, week after week, month after month. It was mainly her kids who answered the door. The moneylenders would ask repeatedly whether their mother was in. The kids witnessed all of this on the doorstep. That is appalling intimidation. That woman was afraid to go into her credit union or her bank. We were able to get something done for that particular person. We put her on the right track and on the right road. We got her out of a very difficult situation. There is example after example of similar cases all over the place.

Loan sharks use blackmail constantly to frighten people. Some loan sharks threaten violence on people if they fall into difficulty with a loan. We cannot have that happening to any of our citizens. I could give the Minister of State many more examples of cases I have come across both since I became a Deputy and when I was a member of the local authority. It is really important that we support Bills being brought forward such as this one this evening. I hope the Government will co-operate with it. We should pursue this vigorously because this type of situation should not have to go on month after month and year after year before being solved. It should be solved in a matter of months at most because, as I said, people are constantly suffering out there.

Coming into January and February there will be people unknown to us scurrying around the place trying to pay off those moneylenders. They will be paying exorbitant rates of interest. These are usually the type of loan sharks who call to one's door offering credit or who offer credit over the telephone. If people were to think about that they would realise it is not really the normal way in which credit is offered. People should be really wary of individuals who call to their doorsteps. Of course if they get a person in once they will keep coming back. There are poor families in this country who have been caught in this web year after year and who have suffered a lot of financial hardship because of that.

Sometimes we do not think of the little things but I know of a woman who, in the very recent past, had to borrow in excess of €3,000 to pay for the cost of a funeral. We abolished the funeral grant because people in authority did not think people used it any more. She did not get help off the welfare officer. As I said, the funeral grant, as it was known, was withdrawn. That put enormous stress and strain on that family. Unfortunately, there were issues within that family and there was no money. That happens. That is the reality of life. Not everyone on this earth is as lucky as some. Those situations exist and they are very real and very challenging. Most people who use those types of moneylenders are afraid and ashamed to talk about their situation. They are even ashamed to talk to their politicians about it. I believe it is getting harder for credit unions to give loans to some of those people. From what I know and from what I would have been involved in, in the past credit unions were the saviours for many of those people.

I know the Minister of State means well. I urge him to withdraw the amendment, to support the Bill, and to let this go forward as quickly as possible.

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