Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail)

As the country comes to terms with a very difficult budget, I want to raise an issue that I have spoken on many times, namely, the maximum chargeable interest rate for loans. Licensed money lenders in this State can legally charge extortionate rates of 187%, and as people try honestly and in a resilient fashion to make the adjustments the budget demands of them, they may well seek to resort to the likes of Provident Financial plc, which openly charges 187%, and other moneylenders with extortionate rates. This takes advantage of people, and other countries such as Germany have faced up to this issue where there is a maximum chargeable rate. I believe 187% is legalised criminality by way of extortion.

When people run into difficulty trying to meet these extortionate rates, they may resort to illegal moneylenders and we know the criminality associated with that. In whatever time is left I ask for an urgent debate on this. I urge the Leader to write immediately to the Minister for Finance and the Minister for Justice and Law Reform to ask that a maximum chargeable rate be applied forthwith.

As regards the completion of the budgetary process and the expected dissolution of the Houses of the Oireachtas to facilitate an election, it is worth noting that the Finance Bill last year was not concluded until well into April. Therefore an early summer election may well happen.