Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Question 423: To ask the Minister for Finance if any prosecutions relating to legal or illegal money lending have been taken in the period January 2009 to May 2010; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31898/10]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I. as Minister for Finance, have no statutory function in relation to the issue raised by the Deputy. Under the Prosecution of Offences Act 1974, the Director of Public Prosecutions acts independently in the performance of his functions and makes decisions on prosecutions independent of all Government Departments and Institutions, including An Garda Síochána.

The Financial Regulator (FR) can impose "administrative sanctions" against moneylenders licensed by it for prescribed contraventions of legislation or regulatory rules. The FR has advised me that no "administrative sanctions" have been placed on any licensed moneylender in the period January 2009 to May 2010.

My Department asked the Central Statistics Office for figures on prosecutions for moneylending. The closest figures they could supply me with are reported incidents of Demanding Payment of Debt Causing Alarm. They advised my Department that in 2009 there were 38 reported incidents and in the year to June 2010 there were 14 reported incidents. They said that these figures were provisional and may be subject to further revision.