Michelle Mulherin (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 31: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the reason the Money Advice and Budgetary Service did not make any submission to the Keane Report in view of their brief and their experience in helping persons in difficulty with mortgage and personal debt. [39251/11]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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In July 2011 the Government's Economic Management Council tasked an Interdepartmental Mortgage Arrears Working Group chaired by the Department of Finance (Mr Declan Keane) to consider further actions to alleviate the increasing problem of mortgage arrears. The report was published on 30th September, 2011. The Working Group in their deliberations availed of the outcomes from the extensive consultation process undertaken by the Expert Group on Mortgage Arrears and Personal Debt Review, chaired by Mr Hugh Cooney, with a wide range of interested parties including the Citizens Information Board and the Money Advice and Budgeting Service

I recently invited stakeholders working in the mortgage and personal debt area, including representatives from the Money Advice and Budgeting Service, to a forum to hear their views on the recommendations of the Interdepartmental Working Group on Mortgage Arrears including proposals to curtail mortgage interest supplement and to support people in arrears through an independent mortgage advice service. The outcomes of these discussions will help to inform the most appropriate mechanism for delivery of the independent mortgage advisory function and I will be discussing this matter with my Government colleagues. The Citizen Information Board (CIB), under the aegis of my Department, has statutory responsibility for the 53 independent Money Advice and Budgeting Services (MABS) who provide assistance to people experiencing money problems.