This article is from page 4 of the 2013-12-10 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 4 JPG
THE CLARE branch of St Vincent de Paul say they will pay for Christmas presents for children this year – if it means that families won’t be forced to use non-traditional moneylenders.
Clare SVP president, John Cullinane, is urging Clare families to contact the society now – before the pressures to go into debt to fund Christmas presents begins.
Speaking in the aftermath of a Gardai crackdown on illegal money lending in Clare, Mr Cullinane said his organisation can provide toys, food and fuel to needy families this Christmas.
“We have had some people coming to us in recent times reporting that they have gotten in trouble with money lenders but we fell that most of these people don’t actually contact the SVP,” he said.
“We feel that a large amount of people are using money lenders before they contact SVP.
“We would really urge people to contact us, especially coming up to Christmas time when families need more money.
“We would urge people not to go money lenders looking for money they should go to their local St Vincent de Paul instead.
“We will provide everything we possibly can for people and families coming up to Christmas.
“We can help people with food, clothing, toys and fuel – we are in a position to provide people in need with a wide array of materials that will help them steer clear of moneylenders this Christmas.
“It is so easy when a moneylender calls to your door.
“It is very tempting to avail of it at the time but then when you are paying back at interest rate of 300 per cent or more, people can get caught in a cycle with the money lenders and become trapped by the weight of their debt.”
The St Vincent de Paul carries out an assessment of all applications to prevent people who don’t need it from accessing their services.
“However, once a person or family have passed the application, they is funding in place to help them with a variety of materials in the run up to Christmas.
People thinking of using money lenders are also urged to contact Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS).