Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 19 Feb 2002

Vol. 548 No. 5

Written Answers. - Family Support Services.

John Dennehy

Question:

346 Mr. Dennehy asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the number of persons assisted by the Money Advice and Budgeting Services in 2001; the level of State support for the service; his views on the operation of the service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5530/02]

Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs (Mr. D. Ahern):

The Money Advice and Budgeting Service was inaugurated in 1992 with the establishment of five pilot projects aimed at building new and more comprehensive approaches to combating the problems of moneylending and over-indebtedness. Since then the number of Money Advice and Budgeting Service projects has grown to 52. A total of over €42 million has been provided to the service since 1992. This Government has increased the level of funding from €2.8 million in 1997 to €9.7 million in 2002. A table, detailing the annual allocations, is included as appendix 1 for the information of the Deputy.

The Money Advice and Budgeting Service had some 7,243 new clients in the year 2000, which is the latest year for which such figures are available. As well as new clients, MABS projects have assisted, in the year 2000, significant numbers of people whose cases were carried over into that year from previous years. The MABS programme includes a general money advice element for local communities. It targets families identified as having problems with debt or moneylending, in particular, those dependent on social welfare or on low income. The emphasis is on practical budget based measures aimed at removing people permanently from dependence on moneylenders and opening up alternative sources of low cost credit through credit unions. The service gives advice and assistance but does not pay debts. A consultancy firm has been engaged by my Department to undertake an evaluation study of the Money Advice and Budgeting Service. The purpose of the evaluation was to ensure that the programme was achieving its aims, that it was being operated efficiently, that the objectives of the programme were being met effectively and to facilitate the future strategic development of the service. The findings of the evaluation were that the service is well regarded and is considered both appropriate and effective by the various stakeholders. The costs of delivering the service were found to be reasonable and to compare favourably to those of other services dealing with disadvantaged groups.

The evaluation is ongoing and on completion will inform the strategic development of the service.

Appendix 1

{Budget for MABS projects since 1992}:–

1992 = €330,000	£260,000	(5 pilot projects)
1993 = €634,000	£500,000	(13 projects)
1994 = €952,000	£750,000	(25 projects)
1995 = €1,587,000	£1,250,000	(32 projects)
1996 = €2,520,000	£1,985,000	(40 projects)
1997 = €2,793,000	£2,200,000	(44 projects)
1998 = €3,990,000	£3,143,000	(48 projects)
1999 = €5,345,000	£4,210,000	(48 projects)
2000 = €5,767,000	£4,542,000	(50 projects)
2001 = €8,465,000	£6,667,000	(50 projects)
2002 = €9,702,000	£7,641,000	(52 projects)