Money Advice and Budgeting Service.

Wednesday, 31 January 2007

Questions (1081)

Michael Lowry

Question:

1163 Mr. Lowry asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the level of funding provided to an organisation (details supplied) in each year for the past five years; the level given to each location of that organisation; if, in view of the fact that there has been an increase in the demand for services in that time, he will provide an increase for the recruitment of additional personnel; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1660/07]

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Written answers

Minister for Social and Family Affairs (Mr. Brennan)

The Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS) provides assistance to people who are over-indebted and need help and advice in coping with debt problems. There are 52 independent companies nation-wide operating the service. MABS National Development Ltd was set up in 2004 to support and develop the network of services throughout the country. Many voluntary and statutory bodies such as the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, the Community Welfare Service, Citizens' Information Centres, Centres for the Unemployed and local authorities work closely with the programme. The credit union movement has been a key partner in MABS since its inception and its involvement and support is central to the development and success of the service.

In 2006, MABS provided services to some 12,300 new clients. The number of active cases at the end of the year was 14,600. The demand for the service can be attributed to the increase in the availability of credit generally and to the quality of the service provided by MABS advisors. The MABS is highly regarded and successful in meeting the needs of its clients.

There are some 230 staff employed at present by MABS companies throughout the MABS network. The requirement for additional staff by individual services is kept under review by my Department. In 2006, €16.4 million was provided to fund the MABS representing an increase of 20% on the previous year mainly in respect of additional staff costs. In 2007, I have further increased the annual allocation to €17.64 million to assist with the increasing workload.

I plan to bring proposals to the Government shortly to establish the MABS on a statutory basis. My proposals for legislation aim to build on best features of the MABS model of service to the public. The proposals will combine a continuation of local voluntary involvement with strong national leadership and ensure a high quality, coordinated budgeting and advice service for the future, in particular for people on low incomes.

They will take account of best practice in corporate governance for a customer focused service that provides value for money for the taxpayer's investment and meets the challenges posed by the rapidly changing face of debt in 21st century Ireland.

The Tables details the amount of funding allocated to MABS in each year since 2002 and the funding provided to each MABS company in the same period.

Table 1: MABS Funding 2002 to 2006

Year	Funding	No. of MABS Companies
	€
2002	9,702,069	52
2003	9,867,000	52
2004	11,401,000	52
2005	13,620,000	52
2006	16,416,000	53

Table 2: Funding provided to each MABS company since 2002

MABS Company	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006
	€	€	€	€	€
Arklow	154,805	179,931	172,970	188,605	196,869
Athlone	86,105	92,117	90,160	107,775	106,282
Ballymun	218,822	224,535	227,260	278,602	301,737
Blanchardstown	174,503	187,902	186,008	220,576	271,972
Bray	169,241	202,021	219,816	257,367	288,572
Carlow	218,489	223,665	285,051	271,401	282,331
Cavan	196,136	197,577	191,299	210,243	260,675
Charleville	107,934	117,894	161,367	164,740	175,021
Clare	197,174	214,588	221,859	262,764	259,498
Clondalkin	211,207	243,866	235,719	267,916	286,189
COMAC (Cherry Orchard)	212,417	225,851	227,256	282,877	284,766
Cork	225,417	263,726	324,913	386,914	387,288
Drogheda	322,283	93,044	133,848	165,133	177,459
Dublin 12	148,981	165,175	178,152	286,907	221,090
Dublin North City	157,530	172,732	211,560	238,623	246,821
Dublin North East	111,419	177,527	167,876	193,356	231,082
Dublin South East	150,673	207,621	382,372	250,720	284,612
MABS Companies	2002	2003	20004	2005	2006
Dún Laoghaire	139,000	142,065	144,521	192,688	194,250
Dundalk/Oriel	146,461	171,359	179,944	212,948	230,176
Dundrum	135,411	147,579	157,649	199,462	317,839
Fingal	148,602	168,269	201,166	224,964	253,548
Finglas	239,562	300,186	341,025	245,299	298,341
Kerry	238,000	264,054	325,525	314,531	361,012
Kildare	282,512	296,715	335,571	364,395	397,181
Kilkenny	169,603	183,964	233,910	270,943	266,176
Laois	375,226	92,632	99,948	164,836	181,904
Leitrim	85,500	111,192	110,599	127,194	130,423
Liffey South West	167,499	168,692	280,643	292,649	309,602
Limerick	362,295	335,337	330,843	384,201	301,246
Longford	150,331	152,854	150,317	145,129	150,500
Meath	220,868	225,994	258,086	275,803	288,422
Monaghan	140,500	100,911	334,015	189,403	213,188
Mullingar	99,537	151,541	142,442	164,243	193,336
National Traveller	137,185	138,145	230,886	256,605	282,572
North Cork	159,590	169,558	201,322	198,082	223,748
North Donegal	167,220	179,409	301,074	297,012	313,815
North Galway	89,681	114,730	150,140	175,913	178,259
North Mayo	123,361	103,279	118,747	154,952	175,619
North Tipperary	170,093	178,274	242,309	207,340	237,195
Offaly	161,646	168,856	172,426	210,112	216,880
Roscommon	116,365	121,625	184,292	208,170	211,119
South Donegal	61,522	94,890	103,914	117,593	125,511
South Galway	250,734	263,700	323,890	386,240	356,130
MABS Company	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006
South Mayo	105,096	115,115	141,691	177,949	190,935
South Tipperary	257,335	297,533	317,773	323,377	333,666
Sligo	94,701	99,084	101,679	113,109	103,316
Tallaght	210,723	218,970	258,005	249,462	250,432
West Cork	150,180	179,459	190,894	220,834	230,482
West Donegal	66,932	59,344	109,934	101,861	97,693
West Waterford	110,719	122,147	106,242	105,275	112,530
Waterford	250,222	304,123	297,972	340,688	352,866
Wexford	166,572	177,712	237,835	231,574	246,018
MABS NDL			238,573	569,000	836,174