Calls to the State’s debt advice service have soared as families in financial distress struggle to deal with skyrocketing inflation.
The Money Advice and Budgeting Service dealt with around 100 calls a day in September and October from householders drowning in debt. MABS helpline took a record 2,867 calls in September – the highest in a single month since January 2012 – and 2,148 in October.
The level of calls represents an increase of 35% in September and 29% in October compared to 2021, as cost of living protests were held across the country yesterday. MABS national spokesman Karl Cronin said the figure was alarming and revealed some clients clobbered by the cost of living were back for the SECOND time in a year.
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He told the Irish Sunday Mirror: “We’ve always been busy but we’ve seen a notable increase in calls since mid summer. People are beginning to see the impact of the rise in the cost of living on their pockets.
“We are getting a lot more calls because a household that was able to manage on a monthly basis is now facing increasing prices on all fronts. Energy, food, fuel, rent and mortgages have all gone up, but their income remains the same.
“So households that were more than capable of managing month-to-month expenses are now reaching out to us because they are in difficulties.” Mr Cronin said a worrying trend had emerged with clients who contacted MABS a year ago for debt restructuring were returning for a second time.
He said: “What we are seeing is debt plans we may have renegotiated 12 or 18 months ago, those clients would have been finished with us, but they’ve had to come back to have them renegotiated.
“They were based on what their income was and the capability of what that can buy has changed now. Their repayments have had to be decreased because they are facing higher bills for everything.
“In that scenario it will take them longer to pay off their debts than it would have say 12 months ago.” Mr Cronin urged struggling households to “face it head on” and seek support via the mabs.ie website.
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He added: “When we meet with clients there is the same list every household needs to prioritise – food, heat, light, medical expenses. After that there is room to make cuts.
“Families are struggling to maintain the same level of after school and children’s activities. These are the choices they have to make and areas where they can save.
“But in saying that it’s important to include some sort of social inclusion activity in the weekly family budget – even if it’s just a weekly swim or whatever.” Speaking at a protest in Cork, Catriona Twomey, of Penny Dinners, said: “End the poverty, end the homelessness.
“Elderly people are petrified of what they face this winter.”
More than 20 protests highlighting the cost of living crisis took place across the country yesterday. People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy, who was involved in organising the protest in Tallaght, South Dublin, said momentum behind the campaign was growing.
He added: “The momentum is going to continue to grow because I think, as the winter hits, pressure is really going to come on people and they will see that enough hasn’t been done to protect people.
“It is going to get cold. People are in real crisis situations.
“There’s loads of people, particularly older people, people on fixed incomes, just can’t afford to be heating their homes this winter.” In September, thousands took to the streets of Dublin in a pre-budget protest aimed at ramping up pressure on the Government to take action.
The Government’s €11billion budget package, unveiled late in September, comprised €6.9billion in budgetary measures for next year. It also includes a €4.1billion package of one-off measures to help tackle the rising cost of living for individuals, families and households.
Speaking to reporters in Cork on yesterday, Taoiseach Micheal Martin said Budget 2023 represented a significant intervention. However, he cautioned that cost of living measures had to be balanced so they would not ultimately place further upward pressure on inflation.
He added: “We have intervened with an unprecedented budget and an unprecedented cost of living package of over €11billion.”
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