Continuing increases in the level of personal debt have prompted the Minister for Social and Family Affairs, Séamus Brennan, to announce a "major strengthening of the national Money Advice and Budgeting Service [ Mabs]," he announced yesterday.
"New figures show the clients to Mabs owe creditors over €64 million at interest rates of up to 39 per cent. These are quite alarming," he said. "There is a clear need to establish Mabs on a statutory basis with streamlined national structure and national leadership.
"These figures from research undertaken by Mabs and the Combat Poverty Agency give us hard information about the numbers and the types of debt and how dangerous it can be for people."
The Minister was speaking to journalists as he entered a pre-budget forum to hear submissions from 32 different organisations working with economically vulnerable people.
He highlighted child poverty as an area he particularly wished to see addressed by the Minister for Finance, Brian Cowen, in December's budget. Asked whether he would be seeking an increase in the Child Dependent Allowance (CDA), which goes to the poorest children and which has not been increased for over 10 years, he said he had an "open mind on that this time".
He said he had been persuaded in the previous two budgets that the best means of increasing childrens' incomes was through the universal Child Benefit.
He had been waiting for recommendations from the National Economic and Social Council on targeting child poverty through a new payment - a second tier to the child benefit - aimed at the least well-off children.
"But I still have not received that and am getting a bit impatient about that. So we may look again at CDA in the budget."
The issues of child poverty, fuel poverty and encouraging people back to work without them abruptly losing their benefits were recurring themes in the submissions from such organisations as the Society of St Vincent de Paul, Barnardos, One Family, Inclusion Ireland and Age Action Ireland.
Audrey Deane, policy officer with SVP, said the organisation had spent €50 million last year "helping people who just did not have adequate incomes".
She echoed a number of other organisations in her call for changes and increases to the Back to School Clothing and Footwear payment. "There are a lot of children who don't get this who really do need it. We are asking you to be creative and generous in this payment. We also feel it should be paid twice a year."
Fr Seán Healy of the Cori Justice Commission called for a 400 per cent increase in the new child care payment, which was introduced last year and is worth €1,000 per year per child up to the age of four. He said this could be increased to €5,000 per year with minimal cost by making it a refundable tax credit, therefore as a payment to parents who are outside the tax net, or as a tax credit to those who pay tax.
