What a relief

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.

In Cork City alone since the start of the year, this tireless agency has secured write-offs on the Debt Relief Notice scheme amounting to €238,000 for 17 clients struggling with their problem debts, one of the highest levels of debt in the country.

To give some idea of the scale of this problem, the debt relief ranged from €3,000 for one client to €32,000 for another. Were it not for the Money Advice and Budgetary Service, the dream of being free of debt would remain a nightmare.

For many, it would be nigh-on impossible to get off the seemingly never-ending treadmill of unsecured debt.

No wonder the Cork MABS co-ordinator, Margaret O’Neill, regards the DRN scheme as a once-in-a-lifetime “golden ticket” for people trying desperately to get their life back on track.