FLAC reports rise in requests for money advice

The Free Legal Advice Centre says it has experienced a four-fold increase in the number of people contacting its helpline for money advice in the first half of this year.

The revelation comes as the Law Reform Commission publishes a consultation paper recommending an end to the imprisonment of people who are unable to pay their debts.

The commission is also recommending the establishment of an agency to deal with debt cases and thereby remove them from the court process.

Noeleen Blackwell, the executive director of FLAC, says the recent economic crash has revealed how "gullible" people were given money by "reckless" lenders in the belief that the boom would last forever.

She says these people should not be sent to prison because they can no longer afford to repay their debt.