Ó Caoláin says "warnings not enough" on debt problems
Sinn Féin spokesperson on Finance, Caoimhghin Ó Caoláin TD has said today’s annual report by the Central Bank and yesterday's ESRI report indicate the increasing problem of indebtedness for many people and that “growing
numbers of people are leaving themselves very vulnerable to even the slightest rise in interest rates".
Deputy Ó Caoláin said: "These warnings about indebtedness have become annual events but they are not enough. The problem needs to be addressed.People need to be fully informed of all the consquences of indebtedness. One of the recommendations of the recent Banking Report of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Finance and the Public Service was for the Financial Regulator to review the lending criteria of banks with a view to ensuring
that they can identify applicants with a high risk of over indebtedness. This recommendation should be acted upon.
"The Report also recommended that the credit institutions should contribute €5 million per annum to the Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS) to enable it to extend its work in helping people who are over indebted.
Again, the Minister for Finance should act on this recommendation." ENDS