Waiting times for advice on indebtedness running into months

The average waiting time for people seeking a first appointment with the Money Advice and Budgeting Service (Mabs) is almost five months in some parts of the country, new figures reveal.

Mabs is a State-subsidised advisory service for people in debt or in danger of getting into debt – particularly those on low incomes and living on social welfare. The figures relate to face-to-face appointments with a Mabs adviser.

The longest wait in the country is in Donegal North, where the average time is 20.2 weeks. This is followed by Mayo South and Meath, with waits of 16 and 13.6 weeks respectively. The average wait across the country is 4.4 weeks.

Over half of the 51 Mabs services have a waiting time of four weeks or less, while 13 have a waiting time of four to six weeks.

Michael Culloty of Mabs said that across the service people would have to wait four weeks or less and that waiting times had decreased.

There were a few areas where there were “inordinate” waiting lists, he admitted.

Factors affecting waiting lists could include local socio-economic conditions and staff changes, including redeployment and promotion, he said.

Because the area of debt advice was so complex it wasn’t possible to just “helicopter” someone into the job quickly.

Mr Culloty said the need for Mabs’ services sometimes peaked in certain areas where creditors targeted them for disconnection, for example.

“These waiting lists can peak and trough at times,” he said.

If people wanted “quick, comprehensive” debt advice it was available to them at the end of a phone and people would be called back depending on their need.

People dealing with debt issues could have a face-to-face meeting with an advisor “very quickly” if it was an urgent matter, Mr Culloty said.