THE GOVERNMENT has been urged to do more to assist people with money problems following a dramatic rise in the number of people seeking help to cope with debt issues.
The Free Legal Advice Centre (Flac) says it has had a four-fold increase in requests for advice on debt-related problems over the past year, as well as a doubling in visits to its advice centre.
In a statement yesterday, the centre said it welcomed the Government’s decision to appoint 19 extra staff to the Money Advice and Budgeting Service (Mabs).
However, it said a more co-ordinated approach across Government departments was needed to protect those who are over-indebted.
Noeleen Blackwell, Flac’s director general, said appropriate financial and legal information and advice needed to be made available to debtors as early as possible in the debt enforcement process.
It published a study earlier this summer which advocated ending the use of imprisonment in debt enforcement and promoting the use of mediation and debt rescheduling.
Last year, for example, some 276 people were imprisoned in connection with debt for an average of just under a month. The debt is still owed when the person is released.
Ms Blackwell said: “Taken with the experience of people in our study, the dramatic rise in debt queries shows there is an urgent need for legislators to start taking a broader approach to debt in Ireland.
“Flac has proposed a wide-ranging set of recommendations on what can be done to help people in debt – it’s now up to the Government to make the changes.”
Its report also recommended a co-ordinated approach to the provision of services complementary to Mabs, such as legal aid and advice, citizens’ information and family support.
Funding for Mabs should also increase to reflect the increased demand on its services, reflected in waiting lists, according to the group.
New figures show the scale of pressure on Mabs, with numbers seeking support set to double over the course of the year.
In the first half of this year, almost 10,000 new clients were seen by Mabs staff, while a further 1,600 sought assistance about budgeting and money management.
The average debt owed by new clients when they first came to the service this year was in the region of €15,000.
