Vol. 396 No. 6
145 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for Social Welfare if his attention has been brought to the problems of illegal moneylending in Mullingar, Country Westmeath, as outlined in a report (details supplied); the action, if any, he proposes to take to ensure that this abuse of the law is stopped as quickly as possible and that the people in need of such facilities will obtain assistance; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I am aware of the newspaper report in question which contains allegations that child benefit books have been taken as security for loans. Under existing legislation any person who takes a book in exchange or in pawn is guilty of an offence for which he/she is liable (a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £1,000 and/or imprisonment for a term not exceeding three year, or (b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding £10,000 and/or imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years.
Notwithstanding these allegations, my Department have not received any specific complaints of abuses of this nature and have no evidence which would warrant prosecution under these provisions. If the position in this regard changes, all appropriate action will be taken, including prosecution of offenders, if the circumstances allow.
With a view to assisting people to break the cycle of over-indebtedness and to regain control over their financial affairs, I announced proposals toward the end of last year for the operation of a revolving loan guarantee fund specifically to assist those on low incomes who have become indebted to moneylenders. These proposals involve the expansion of schemes which the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and certain credit unions had already been operating in various areas throughout the country, including Mullingar, to tackle the problem of moneylending. The fund, which is a central element of the Government's action plan to deal with the problems caused by moneylending, is administered on a day to day basis by the Society of St. Vincent de Paul with the co-operation of participating credit unions.
