The payment of credit card bills will have been a financial priority in many Irish households in the last couple of weeks, as people got paid and turned their attention to clearing Christmas debt.

There are currently 1,200 'active' cases in the mortgage to rent process nationally and Fr McVerry wants to see the number increased significantly this year.

Banking lobbyists have called for the introduction of new legislation to ease the plight of separated borrowers who are in mortgage arrears.

MABS, the State-backed Money Advice and Budgeting Service and the Banking and Payments Federation have announced the agreement, saying it will help consumers who are struggling with mortgage debt.

An agreement to help resolve mortgage disputes has been reached between two leading agencies.

Citizens Information had more than 13 million users last year with 'Irish citizenship through birth or descent' the most visited document.

The water allowance is 213,000 litres per year based on an average household of four people.

It is only a matter of weeks before churchyards around Ireland will be filled with adorable children in white dresses or suits. With First Holy Communion season just around the corner, and many parents are facing a hectic period of planning, writes Gráinne McGuinness.

A recent survey suggested Irish people don’t understand how their credit cards work, certainly not as well as they ideally should.

More than 3,300 households in serious mortgage arrears have been spared the loss of their homes with the help of the Abhaile scheme.

I don't want scare anyone, and I apologise in advance for bringing up the C-word, but it is now just over 100 days until Christmas. I am not one of those lunatics who put the decorations up before

Mortgage arrears are not just problems for homeowners struggling to make repayments but pose a threat to the wider economy, a senior figure in the Central Bank has warned.

It’s been a while since the Victorian historian, Thomas Carlyle, described economics as the dismal science, but, even so, the discipline and its practitioners’ predictions have more influence than they did in Carlyle’s time.

Some seasonal consumer advice with Gráinne McGuinness

The holders of the purse-strings for the Money Advice and Budgeting Service (Mabs) have been slammed for their “penny pinching” and ‘miserly’ leap year reduction on frontline workers.

"He told me he didn't feel good. I knew he didn't have much money and was struggling with mortgage payments as work was not plentiful."

Consumer advice with Gráinne McGuinness

There is help available and the sooner a debt problem is addressed the sooner it can begin to be resolved, writes Grainne McGuinness in her weekly consumer advice column.

The statutory body tasked with returning people in debt to solvency has welcomed the introduction of a new scheme aimed at assisting distressed mortgage holders.

Plans for free financial and legal advice to help struggling borrowers stay in their homes will be brought to Cabinet this week as a part of a €15m package to help people in mortgage arrears.

Small improvements can add up to big savings, Teagasc is advising in its ongoing dairy farm walks’ series.

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 State’s free money advice service has secured millions of euro in debt write-offs since January for people struggling with problem debt.

THERE can be no greater vindication of the work of MABS, the State’s free money advice service, than the sense of relief it brings to countless people through debt write-offs running to millions of euro.

The running sore of mortgage arrears — eight years after the onset of the financial crisis — is back on top of the political agenda as Independent TDs negotiate their participation in a new government, the Irish Examiner has learned.

FIRST Holy Communions are on the horizon. Parents can feel under pressure to produce the day of days for their son or daughter so plan ahead to avoid struggling with the cost.

Good morning. Here’s everything you need to know before you start your day.

The state’s Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS) has rolled out a new service to help homeowners struggling with mortgage debt. The new dedicated mortgage arrears service will include the provision of court mentors at repossession sittings right across the country.

Good afternoon. Here’s all the news you need to know this lunchtime

The five main banks have been accused of insulting Irish groups which help people in debt by funding a similar British charity to start work here.

Struggling homeowners will shortly be able to turn for help and advice to one of 27 special Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS) outlets and will also be able to consult with court “mentors” during hearings.

Couples should be upfront about spending habits once their relationship gets serious. That doesn’t mean that they have to forsake their independence says Grainne McGuinness but it means when times are tough, they will be more united

Central Bank figures showing a slowdown in the numbers entering so-called early arrears fails to capture the huge scale of the home debt crisis, debt experts have said.

Groups working with distressed mortgage holders have welcomed “belated” attempts by the Government to address the mortgage arrears crisis but criticised the lack of detail available so far.

There are some solid ideas on dealing with the crisis in mortgage arrears but more work is needed, writes Ross Maguire.

Struggling borrowers facing repossession of their home in the courts are expected to be offered increased legal support as part of the Coalition’s package of reforms on mortgage arrears.

Senior debt advisers have warned that households continue to face paying down intolerable debt burdens despite new official figures showing that overall personal debt levels had fallen to a 10-year low.

The banks and courts are showing scant mercy when it comes to families struggling to stay in their homes. Norma Costelloe talks to families who think this year could be the year that the bailiffs finally come knocking.

Little has been done to increase the level of support available to people as they seek to restructure mortgage debt, writes Noeline Blackwell.

The UK debt management agency Step Change will launch its services in Ireland by April, the Irish Examiner has learned.

The Energy Minister Alex White has said surcharging pay-as-you-go electricity customers is "not acceptable" and should be ended.

The Money Advice and Budgeting service has welcomed comments made by the Head of the Central Bank this afternoon, which indicate that the rule on 20% mortgage deposits may be eased.

A 17-fold increase in the number of house repossession applications in Clare, rising from seven to 120, over the last 12 months has been described as "startling" by a local deputy.

Retailers have come under pressure to remove a surcharge of up to 50c imposed on customers topping up their pay-as- you-go electricity and gas cards.

The Government in considering a plan to allow credit unions provide emergency loans to people who have lost their credit rating in a move that may cut reliance on moneylenders.

Affordable and sustainable repayment schedules are required to protect vulnerable consumers should a proposed state debt collection agency be established.