Some mortgage lenders are operating without supervision from the Central Bank or any other regulatory authority, according to the report of the office of the director of consumer affairs.
The director, Ms Carmel Foley, said it was happening as a result of a loophole in the legislation.
She said the lenders concerned were not big players and while many of them could be giving a legitimate service, she felt it was important they be supervised.
She also expressed concern in the report that there had not been more progress on establishing the proposed single financial regulatory authority.
"At this stage we hear it's coming in January," she said. Ms Foley said she hoped the new authority would take a look at gaps in the legislation and end the situation which left unregulated mortgage lenders in the marketplace.
Her report said the office became aware during the year of "a practice whereby persons who were not authorised to engage as mortgage intermediaries nevertheless introduced consumers seeking a housing loan to authorised intermediaries in return for a consideration".
Ms Foley has written to the Minister for Consumer Affairs to relay her concerns.
The report also said her office received a steady flow of complaints from customers of financial institutions in 2001.
One of the issues of most concern was the impact of policy decisions by financial institutions with regard to restricting, reducing and withdrawing services.
Ms Foley expressed concern that although banks have promoted the use of alternative banking facilities, they have not invested sufficiently in ATMs. Her report said 60 licences were issued by the office to moneylenders last year for a total cost of £142,000. A total of 63 licences had been issued the year before.
One of the complaints successfully handled by the office during 2001 also related to a moneylender. The complainant said a Galway-based moneylender had issued a loan to a person in Sligo which was outside the area for which it was licensed.
The moneylender said all business was conducted from its Galway office and it was unaware it had breached the terms of its licence. However, it undertook to write off the amount of money loaned outside the district for which it held a licence.
Four pawnbrokers' licences were also issued by the office last year at a cost of £1,000 each.