Denis Landy (Labour) | Oireachtas source

There are times the Senator surpasses himself.

I wish to raise the issue of moneylenders and the concern I and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul have about the lack of restriction on moneylenders in this country. Moneylenders are regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland and are provided with licences. The number of licences is increasing but it is no coincidence that the number of loans from credit unions available to people in low income families is decreasing because of restrictions. Moneylenders are using the current opportunity to squeeze money out of hard-pressed families. For example, a loan of €1,400 over 52 weeks is repaid to the tune of €2,184.

A review has been done by the Central Bank of Ireland on moneylenders and the practice of moneylenders and I am pleased that most of them conform to the regulations but there is still no regulatory system to ensure the number of loans per household is restricted or that the amount of money provided to each borrower is based on his or her income. I call on the Leader to contact the Central Bank about those two issues to ensure there is greater restriction on moneylenders and that it can be proved that those who borrow money from them can pay it back before they get into a spiral of debt.