Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)
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Question 56: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the proactive educational measures his Department has taken to advise persons of the dangers of excessive indebtedness; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17142/05]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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My Department has overall responsibility for the money advice and budgeting service, MABS, which provides assistance to people who are over indebted. The service is targeted at those who are on low income or in receipt of social welfare payments and also those with poor literacy and numeracy skills. There are 52 MABS companies located in 65 offices throughout the country. More than 16,000 new clients approach the MABS annually and the service deals with 30,000 clients on an ongoing basis. This year, funding of over €13.6 million is being provided for the MABS.

The money advice and budgeting service has a close and ongoing involvement with my Department at local level. Representatives of the Department are on the boards of management of MABS. The management committees members are also drawn from statutory and voluntary bodies such as the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, credit unions, citizens information centres and community welfare officers. These representatives in turn raise awareness of issues around over indebtedness in their parent bodies.

The money advice and budgeting service is advertised in many post offices and credit unions as well as in local health centres. New posters with local contact details are about to be circulated to all the MABS offices. These posters will be displayed in all social welfare offices and health centres as well as other appropriate locations. One of the objectives of the MABS is to facilitate low income families to develop the knowledge and skills they need to avoid getting into debt and to deal effectively with debt problems that arise.

A new company, MABS National Development Limited or MABS ndl, was established in 2004 to support, promote and develop the service. MABS ndl has recruited a national development team comprising a social policy-communications officer, a community education officer and three casework technical support officers. The community education officer is currently working on the development of a national strategy in community education which will be implemented by the 52 local services. This strategy will seek to empower individuals and communities in developing the skills necessary to deal with debt situations as they arise. Work on this strategy will proceed on a partnership basis, in co-operation at national and local levels with education providers. Contact has commenced with the Department of Education and Science to explore areas of co-operation and the MABS will work at local level with the existing network of adult literacy services and community education facilitators funded by that Department.

The community education officer has recently undertaken a survey of the MABS, entitled "What are we doing in Community Education". The responses showed a high level of activity and the excellent work that has been put into developing materials and programmes which, for the most part, are very good quality.

I recently had the pleasure of officiating at the launch of "Let's Talk Money", a resource pack for money advisers and facilitators. This pack will be a resource to staff in the money advice and budgeting service and also to those who are involved in the education of community groups. It will support the work of MABS as a preventative measure and enable those who are most vulnerable to develop the knowledge and skills required to avoid getting into debt and to deal effectively with debt situations as they arise.