Call to train bank staff to deal with ‘debt depression’

WITH debt depression a growing concern, banking and debt collection staff should receive mental health awareness training, a leading anti-suicide campaigner has urged.

Fine Gael TD and president of the Irish Association of Suicidology, Dan Neville, said creditors had a duty to help and not hound their customers, especially when they were coping with serious health problems.

“Changes in practices, such as waiving fees when a customer has been unwell and introducing mental health awareness training for bank staff will make all the difference,” he said.

“The Government must give leadership and ensure that there are resources available to the psychiatric services to deal with this fallout from the present economic crisis,” he said.

Mr Neville said research in Britain found that people with mental health problems were three times more likely to be in debt as a result of living on low incomes and being unable to get a job.

“Irish personal debt stands at a staggering €172bn and is a significant cost on our mental health,” he pointed out.

“Money worries aren’t just keeping people awake at night, they are causing a high level of stress, depression and, in some cases, self-harm and suicide,” he said.

Mr Neville believes banks should adopt a system where customers could choose to have their account monitored for erratic spending to better protect their finances.

Mr Neville said people with bipolar disorder, at risk of spending extravagantly during a manic phase or schizophrenia, were four times more likely to be in debt than the rest of society. He said the British research found that fewer than one in three people with problem debt informed the organisation to which they owed money of their mental health problems.

Most people with mental health problems did not believe they would be understood or believed and eight out of 10 people who did tell creditors, continued to be harassed about debt payments.