MABS say families feeling the poverty strain

MABS say families feeling the poverty strain


Trevor Quinn

Recent figures suggest the numbers of families experiencing financial difficulty in Mayo are continuing to rise, and MABS say people from a vast-spectrum of backgrounds are now experiencing financial difficulties.
“It’s right across the board. It’s people from all walks off life who are contacting us,” says Brendan Coyne, MABS North Mayo co-ordinator. “It’s people with mortgages, people without mortgages, young people and elderly people.”
The number of people contacting or calling in to MABS offices in Mayo has risen by more than 12 per cent over the last year. Coyne says that in some cases they are recommending that people contact St Vincent de Paul or seek welfare from different sources due to the unprecedented number of people who are contacting them.
“We can’t handle the volume of people that are coming to us at the moment and there is a nine-week waiting list. Many people are having problems with utility bills and credit union loans and we are assisting them as best we can.”
Coyne believes the subzero Winter temperatures played a significant part in the challenges that people are now facing. “The harsh Winter has played a big part in the problems many families are encountering. People already struggling with their finances had not budgeted for the oil, gas and fuel prices that they were forced in to paying. When those costs went up other utility bills suffered and it escalated as a result.”
More than 6,000 of those who contacted MABS in Ireland this year needed further assistance, with the most negative financial issues facing individuals  listed as a personal loan followed by a utility-bill.
Michael Culloty, MABS spokesperson, said that for the first time in the history of the agency 40 per cent of new clients seeking help had a mortgage.
The figures also reveal that all age demographics are being affected, with MABS helping eight teenagers between the ages of 15 to 18, and more than 90 pensioners.
The state agency’s figures show that there has been more than a 38 per cent increase in the number of people calling their helpline in the first three months of this year since the fourth quarter of 2010, placing a serious strain on the service.