asked the Minister for Justice if he will introduce legislation to ensure that licensed moneylenders charge reasonable interest rates; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
11.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Investigation into Moneylending.
9.
asked the Minister for Justice if he will consider establishing a forum, perhaps under the aegis of the legal aid boards, (a) where victims of moneylending could go to register full details of agreements with moneylenders and (b) which would inform people of their rights under the moneylending Acts.
18.
asked the Minister for Justice the proposals he has to eliminate the activities of unlicensed moneylenders; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
19.
asked the Minister for Justice if he will report on his review of illegal moneylending in the light of recent Garda investigations and submissions by interested groups; and, in particular, if he will comment on the desirability of (a) amending the Moneylenders Act, 1933, to make it a criminal offence to charge excessive rates or lend without written contract and (b) assigning a senior Garda officer to co-ordinate an assault on the problem in target areas.
244.
asked the Minister for Justice his views on the tactics used by moneylenders for the collection of repayments; the proposals he has to lessen this undersirable menace; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
245.
asked the Minister for Justice the progress which has been made by the gardaí who were asked to investigate moneylending operations in Wexford and other towns; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I propose to take Questions Nos, 9, 11, 18, 19, 244 and 245 together.
First of all I would like to refer to the comprehensive answer given by my immediate predecessor as Minister for Justice to a number of questions on moneylending on 29 January last. I should like Deputies to have regard to the general remarks about the background— legal and social — to the problem of moneylending contained in that answer. In the course of it, it was indicated that, while in the majority of cases gardaí investigations had not, up to then, uncovered evidence to substantiate allegations made in the media late last year, these investigations were still in progress.
I have recently been informed by the Garda authorities that the results of their investigations into the activities of moneylenders are not yet known.
Accordingly, it is too early to decide yet whether any changes in the law should be contemplated on the basis of the outcome of those investigations or what other steps, including those canvassed in Question No. 11 might be taken.
On the same occasion my predecessor urged, as he had done on previous occasions, that Deputies should bring any cases that they had in mind to the notice of the local gardaí. I can only repeat that. He also said that he would welcome the views of interested groups and asked for written submissions.
There is no record in my Department of any submissions made by interested groups arising from that invitation. Accordingly, I repeat the suggestion. Any views received will be considered along with the outcome of the investigations by the gardaí.
As indicated previously, the gardaí pursue actively all alleged breaches of the law in relation to moneylenders. The question of what resources to devote to this task in particular is a matter for the Garda authorities and I am informed by the Garda authorities that no useful purpose would be served by assigning a senior officer in the way suggested in Question No. 19. Each investigation stands on its own and the information available in one area is unlikely to be of relevance to an investigation in another area.
Does the Minister agree that his predecessor signposted the need to reform the Moneylenders Act when he said it was not a criminal offence to overcharge or lend without a contract? Does he also agree that the fact that there have been only two successful prosecutions by the Garda under the Act in the past six years indicates that the ongoing Garda inquiries are unlikely to produce the results for which he feels he should wait?
I cannot anticipate the results of the Garda inquiries. I repeat that the difficulty the Garda experience in pursuing these inquiries is the reluctance by people involved to give information to the Garda. Deputy Bruton rightly pointed out that they are not criminal offences here and I would not be prepared to say on the basis of a discussion that has taken place so far that it would be appropriate to amend the legislation to make them criminal offences.