Róisín Garvey (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I welcome this Bill and thank the Minister of State for his work on it. We need to look at some interesting facts and figures. According to Central Bank figures, at the end of 2020, the moneylending sector had more than 283,000 customers with €141 million in outstanding loans. Research shows that the customers of moneylenders are more likely to be women, to have dependent children and to be in their late 30s to early 50s. It is great the Minister of State said that when this legislation is enacted, borrowers of the most popular products should see immediate reductions of approximately 13% in the interest charged. The abolition of home collection charges is very welcome. That was an appalling practice and it is great to see an end to it. The introduction of an online repayment book allowing people to check the status of their accounts on their mobile phones is also very welcome.

I will mention credit unions because they can offer an alternative to moneylenders in some instances, but only if they are enabled to do so by the Government. Will the Minister of State review the maximum interest rates credit unions can charge and other restrictions on credit union lending? Credit unions have an important part to play in this but we need to keep an eye on their rates as well. Does the Minister of State envisage any of the recommendations of the review of the credit union policy framework will impact on the high-cost moneylending sector?It is always the most vulnerable who get stuck in these situations and any work we can do to help them deal with moneylenders, who can by their nature be violent, ferocious and frightening to people, is something I welcome.