MANY PEOPLE who are unfamiliar with the social welfare system are reluctant to seek help when they get into financial difficulty, according to the organisations working to help those who find themselves struggling to cope with rising levels of debt.
Both the Money Advice and Budgeting Service (Mabs) and the Society of the St Vincent de Paul spoke yesterday of a dramatic increase in the number of contacts from people of all backgrounds and spoke of the entirely misplaced sense of shame some people felt when seeking help.
Mabs spokesman Michael Culloty said some people’s self-esteem was “tied up in their ability to manage their money and this is particularly the case when it comes to men”.
He said that when they felt their ability to provide for their families was questioned, it had “a very negative impact on their self-worth and even admitting there is a problem is a very difficult thing to do, which is why so many people procrastinate”.
He stressed that while this might be a “very human response”, people should feel no shame or embarrassment. “It is a systems failure more than a personal moral failure. That is the reality and we can say that, but we need the system architecture to reflect that reality too.”
He said there was a “huge imbalance between creditors and debtors”, with many people in debt feeling intimidated by the financial institutions.
He said that while the code of conduct on mortgage arrears, which came into force this year, offered enhanced protection to those experiencing difficulties meeting their mortgage payments, an “adversarial legal system” still existed and more needed to be done at a legislative level to protect the vulnerable.
Under the code, banks can no longer impose penalties on customers in mortgage arrears; force them to surrender tracker mortgages; or bombard them with letters and calls demanding repayment. Struggling mortgage holders must also be offered significant levels of protection once they co-operate with the new arrears-resolution process.
Mr Cullloty stressed that people in trouble needed to contact their creditors. “If they do not make contact then the code that has been put in place does not apply. If people need help, we are there.”
Available benefits: What could be on offer
MINISTER FOR Social Protection Joan Burton has urged MP Mac Domhnaill, who wrote a letter to The Irish Times last week about his financial difficulties, to contact the community welfare officer in his area. Ms Burton said: “I think there are additional benefits that that man and his family may be entitled to. He might also be entitled to help under the mortgage interest supplement scheme.”
Information from the citizensinformation.ie website and other social welfare experts indicates that among the payments and benefits that a man with a spouse or partner, a mortgage and two children could claim are:
Job seeker’s benefit
* €188 per week
* Spouse’s/partner’s benefit €124.84
* Child Dependent Allowance €29.80 per child (€59.60)
* Mortgage Interest Supplement About €400
Back to school allowance
* €200 per annum for eligible children aged 2-11, €305 for eligible children aged 12-17. (€7.70 per week)
Children’s Allowance
* €280 per month
It is important to point out that while the majority of these welfare entitlements are available to PRSI workers, the self-employed who find themselves out of work are excluded from most of them.
