Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 29 May 2013
26. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Social Protection the amount of funding allocated to Citizens Information centres during each of the past five years; and the amount of this funding which was allocated to Money Advice and Budgeting Service in the same period. [25706/13]
View answer28. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Social Protection her views on whether the 16 additional temporary staff assigned to Money Advice and Budgeting Service is sufficient. [25708/13]
View answer34. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of clients that Money Advice and Budgeting Service has assisted during each of the past five years. [25707/13]
View answer40. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Social Protection if she is satisfied that the Money Advice and Budgeting Service will be able to discharge its role under the new personal insolvency system; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25820/13]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 26, 28, 34 and 40 together.
The Citizens Information Board (CIB) is the statutory body responsible for supporting the provision of information, advice including money and budgeting advice and advocacy on a wide range of public and social services. It provides some services directly to the public. It directly funds and supports an extensive range of services through its delivery partners, including the 42 Citizens Information Centres, CIS, and the Money Advice and Budgeting Service, MABS, which is made up of a network of 53 companies, including 51 local companies, MABS National Development and National Traveller MABS. Some 277 money advice staff are employed across the MABS network. The Citizens Information Board is allocated an annual budget from which it funds all of its services. It is responsible for ensuring appropriate governance arrangements are in place in relation to the expenditure of these public funds. Responsibility for MABS transferred to the CIB in July 2009. Funding for MABS now forms part of the overall CIB allocation. The funding made available to MABS has increased every year since then and the details are as follows:
|
Year |
CIB Allocation from Department (€m) |
CIS Allocation from CIB (€m) |
MABS Allocation from CIB (€m) |
|
2008 |
29.47 |
14.47 |
17.95* (direct allocation from Department) |
|
2009 |
28.01 |
15.57 |
17.67* (direct allocation from Department) |
|
2010 |
44.99 |
15.34 |
18.22 |
|
2011 |
46.64 |
15.49 |
18.36 |
|
2012 |
45.74 |
14.59 |
18.31 |
|
2013 |
47.45 |
14.59 |
19.00 |
*direct allocation from Department
The numbers of new clients and helpline callers dealt with by MABS in each year are as follows:
|
Year |
Clients |
Helpline |
|
2008 |
16,600 |
10,973 |
|
2009 |
19,094 |
24,802 |
|
2010 |
21,653 |
27,742 |
|
2011 |
22,462 |
29,629 |
|
2012 |
22,198 |
24,202 |
|
2013 Q1 |
5,737 |
6,371 |
I am very pleased that sanction has been given for 16 temporary staff to be assigned to MABS for up to two years, to establish an Approved Intermediary Service as part of the new Insolvency Service. The CIB and MABS National Development Limited are working closely to ensure the appropriate structures are in place within MABS to implement this new and important statutory role. They have also engaged proactively with the Insolvency Service to ensure the Approved Intermediary Service is fully operational in time for the establishment of the Insolvency Service. I am satisfied that this additional resource ensures MABS will play an important role in the new arrangements for dealing with debt and will continue to provide a high quality personal service to assist people in overcoming their indebtedness and managing their finances.
