Seanad debates

Tuesday, 16 December 2014

Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2014: Committee Stage

 

1:30 pm

Photo of David CullinaneDavid Cullinane (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move recommendation No. 3:


In page 4, between lines 7 and 8, to insert the following:
“Amendment of Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005
3. Section 290(3)(c) of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 is amended by the insertion of “the Parish of the Travelling People or any credit union for the purposes of the Lough Payment Scheme, or” before “any other body that may be prescribed”.”.
If I can, I will speak on the thrust of the other recommendation under the section. The issue relating to recommendation No. 3 was debated extensively in the Dáil on Committee Stage and Report Stage, but we feel it is worth restating the position. The lough payment scheme is something on which we were lobbied by MABS. In 1997 the household budget scheme, HHB, was extended to include the lough payment scheme. The lough payment scheme was jointly managed by The Lough credit union and Cork MABS and was established to facilitate MABS clients nationwide to pay additional creditors other than the local authority and utility companies. In early 2014, approximately 25 MABS services supported more than 400 clients to pay debts via the lough payment scheme. Examples of debts being paid via the scheme include credit unions and Garda fines. Levels of financial exclusion are higher in Ireland than in 12 of the 15 EU countries.
In the past ten years, in an attempt to promote access to legal financial services and reduce the reliance of many on illegal moneylenders, the National Traveller MABS, NTMABS, has promoted the use of the lough payment scheme. NTMABS has worked extensively with a number of partner organisations, local MABS, Clann Credo, Dublin City Council, Wicklow County Council and the Parish of the Travelling People to provide small loan and loan guarantee schemes in an attempt to provide alternatives to illegal moneylenders for members of the Traveller community. All of the loan and loan guarantee schemes use the lough payment scheme as a method of repaying the loans.
As part of the criteria of each of the schemes, the lough payment scheme was identified as the sole method of repayment by the participating organisations. They include credit unions and the organisations I previously listed. The Social Welfare Act 2012 made changes to the creditors that can be paid under the HHB scheme. It requires An Post to have an agreement in place with all relevant creditors to make deductions from an individual's social welfare payment. In future, reductions can only be made for the following creditors - local authority rent, ESB, Bord Gáis, Eircom and Airtricity. The change impacts on the current MABS arrangements with The Lough credit union and the lough payment scheme.
A lengthy presentation was made to us by the National Traveller Money Advice and Budgeting Service. I read some of the transcripts into the record. The recommendation is straightforward. The provisions in the 2012 Act resulted in changes that excluded the option for Travellers to repay loans or pay fines by the previous method, which was proving to be successful. MABS has lobbied us and we feel it is important to keep pushing the issue, including to a vote, because it impacts on vulnerable people. I have made the argument and I will listen to the response of the Minister of State.

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