FEARS have been raised that unless funding is immediately restored to Limerick’s Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS) hundreds of people in financial difficulty could be at risk of losing their homes.
The Citizen’s Information Bureau (CIB), which funds MABS as an agent of the Department of Social Protection, has suspended funding to the Limerick service claiming that it is “non compliant”.
But the hand-to mouth funding system on which MABS survives means that money to pay staff and bills runs out at the end of this month, leaving seven staff out of a job and up to 192,000 clients in financial distress without advice or support.
About half of the Limerick MABS clients are in mortgage arrears.
The situation came to light this week when international business consultant, Daire O’Criodain, who is voluntary chairperson of the Limerick MABS board, told The Limerick Post that funding had been suspended and he feared it would not be restored in time to save the service.
“If the board knew what the details of the alleged non-compliance are, we would address them but we haven’t been given a single current incidence”.
Mr O’Criodain said he became involved as a volunteer in a reconstructed board last January.
“There were, for a variety of reasons, times when reports were not returned on time but we have tackled that issue and are now current on everything and there is a plan in place which ensures that reports will be timely in the future.
“There is not one single suggestion that there has been any financial wrongdoing on the part of anyone involved with MABS.
“No money has gone astray, there’s no room with all the various checks and supervisions for that to happen. They want us to present a plan for how we’re going to manage reporting going forward but there already is a plan in place. We want to concentrate on fixing the problem.
“To withdraw funding and threaten the service is huge over-reaction,” he said.
Mr O’Criodain said that at the request of MABS central management in Dublin, he travelled there to meet with the chief executive, Ms Angela Black.
“Ms Black kept insisting we have to be compliant but we still go not details of how we are not currently complying. She terminated the meeting and we are still no wiser. We would be very happy for them to outline to the media or anybody else what the current incidents of noncompliance are because we have not been told”.
He also wrote to Ms Black calling for the funding to re-instated even on a temporary basis, with monthly reporting if CIB felt it necessary.
Mr O’Criodain said that he has worked in a voluntary capacity with numerous charities and in a professional capacity in both the public and private markets, including the highly competitive international aviation leasing field, “and I have never encountered anything like this”.
UNITE, the union which represents the MABS staff, has called on Social Protection Minister Leo Varadkar to intervene.
In a statement to The Limerick Post, UNITE regional officer Ed Thompson said that MABS was often the final port of call for families facing severe financial difficulties.
“The announcement that Limerick MABS funding has been suspended has caused significant concern not only for our members who staff the service, but also for the users who depend on this vital service – many of whom are already engaging in a process with MABS”, he explained.
Meanwhile, Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Social Protection Deputy Willie O’Dea has expressed concern that funding for the service has been suspended.
“MABS is an essential service and I have seen first-hand the vital work that they do. It is a vital resource for people struggling with financial difficulties and this service must be maintained.
“I am calling on the Minister for Social Protection Leo Varadkar to engage with the funding body, the Citizens Information Board, as a matter of urgency”, Deputy O’Dea added.
When The Limerick Post contacted the Citizens Information Bureau, a spokeswoman said there was ongoing engagement between them and Limerick MABS.
“Any questions relating to the staff of Limerick MABS is a matter for the employer, the Board of Limerick MABS. It is CIB’s priority to ensure the ongoing provision of a MABS service to the people of Limerick”, she added.
