Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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Question 51: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if he has met with the Bankers Federation of Ireland to discuss the report Do the Poor Pay More? in view of its finding that the poor are being pushed towards moneylenders due to the fact that they are unable to open bank accounts; the outcome of any such meeting; the specific requests he made or intends to make to the federation to address this situation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23018/05]

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Question 54: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if he has met with the ESB to discuss the report, Do the Poor Pay More? (details supplied) in view of its recommendation that the ESB should be asked if it was evading regulation by charging 22.9% interest on hire purchase agreements; the outcome of any such meeting; the specific requests he made or intends to make to the ESB to address this situation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23019/05]

Gerard Murphy (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Question 61: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs his efforts to tackle the financial exclusion from access to financial services for persons on social welfare or on low incomes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22917/05]

Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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Question 66: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if he has received a copy of the report, Do the Poor Pay More?; if his attention has been drawn to the report's finding that the billing and payment policies of State bodies and utility companies are helping to push some of the country's poorest into debt; the efforts he is making to address this situation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23016/05]

Dan Neville (Limerick West, Fine Gael)
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Question 81: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the efforts he is making to prevent the situation whereby many vulnerable persons are being forced to use the services of moneylenders; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22922/05]

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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Question 373: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if he has made progress on the issue of providing low interest loans for persons on social welfare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23531/05]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 51, 54, 61, 66, 81 and 373 together.

My Department has a number of services available to assist individuals and families, primarily those on low income, to manage their finances and to open up alternative credit options in their local credit union. My Department has overall responsibility for the money advice and budgeting service, MABS, which provides assistance to people experiencing difficulty in meeting repayments on borrowings. There are 52 independent companies nationwide operating the service.

The MABS programme provides money advice, including the publication of information on money management and debt counselling, to individuals and families who have problems with debt, particularly indebtedness to moneylenders, and who are on low incomes or are in receipt of social welfare payments. The service places an emphasis on practical budget based measures that help people to move permanently from dependence on moneylenders and to access alternative sources of low cost credit. In the year ending December 2004, MABS dealt with over 16,000 new clients and 13,600 are being dealt with on an on going basis.

I recently launched the OPEN report Do the Poor Pay More? which was funded by the money advice and budgeting service and the Combat Poverty Agency. The report shows that many lone parents do not have access to mainstream banking and are therefore more likely to be indebted to high interest lenders such as moneylenders and hire purchase companies. Having considered the various findings and recommendations in the report regarding the practices of the utility companies and the financial industry, I held a series of meetings with the Irish Bankers' Federation, IBF, ESB, Irish League ofCredit Unions, ILCU, and the financial services regulator.

The meeting with the IBF focused on the following four issues: access to mainstream banking facilities, including credit options where appropriate, for lone parents and others on social welfare or low incomes; responsible lending practices to lone parents and others on welfare or low incomes; operationalisation of guidance notes regarding customer identification at local branch level; continued co-operation with the MABS service in dealing with over indebtedness issues when appropriate.

With regard to these specific matters, the banks have agreed to communicate with all retail member banks to ensure that staff are reminded of account opening procedures and the attendant customer identification requirements, including the range of documentation which will satisfy these requirements. They will also be in contact with the financial services regulator, IFSRA, to discuss how they might help promote their publication, A guide to opening a Bank Account.

The meeting with the ESB centred around the rate of interest being charged on its hire purchase agreements by FinancElectric. The ESB explained that its scoring system is more flexible than that of financial institutions and as a result it needs to charge a higher rate of interest.FinancElectric charges interest at various rates and some of its finance products are interest free. I have asked the ESB, in the context of the sale of its retail business, to ensure that in any transfer that takes place, those on low incomes and social welfare payments who are experiencing difficulty in servicing existing loans are treated in a sympathetic fashion.

The credit union movement has played a significant role in facilitating the development of the MABS. When I met with the Irish League ofCredit Unions I was given every assurance that it would continue to play its part in assisting persons on welfare payments and low incomes to be financially included. It undertook to meet with the One Parent and Exchange Network and other interested groups to respond to issues highlighted in the OPEN research. A follow up meeting has since taken place between OPEN, MABS and the ILCU to investigate the possibility of introducing credit products to attract those who are currently borrowing from moneylenders.

I also met with the financial services regulator. He is currently undertaking research into issues surrounding access to financial services in conjunction with the Combat Poverty Agency. I look forward to getting this report, which is intended to be available later this year. The report will be of assistance in further developing appropriate policy responses to financial inclusion.

A good working relationship exists between MABS, the IBF, ILCU, utility companies and the financial regulator. Regular meetings take place regarding debt recovery practices between the service and these bodies and I have requested that my officials keep me briefed on developments.

Through its operation of the household budget scheme with An Post, my Department also assists people who receive certain social welfare payments with money management by enabling them to pay a regular amount towards various household bills by direct deduction from their payments. This scheme is used mainly to cover local authority rents and mortgages and utilities. There is provision under the supplementary allowance scheme, through its exceptional needs payments, whereby persons may qualify for once-off payments from the community welfare service to help prevent undue hardship at times of exceptional expenditure.

I believe financial inclusion is vital in the context of social inclusion overall and I will continue to monitor developments in this area.