Poverty trap - Loan shark issue must be tackled

Illegal moneylenders are targeting people in local housing estate with offers of loans of between €500 and €1,000, but their interest rates are up to 200% per annum. Many people give up their children’s allowance book as collateral, and the moneylenders then drive them to the Post Office on payment day to ensure that they get their money back at usury rates of interest.

This kind of exploitation of the weaker sections of the community is a blight on any society.

The Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority, the body responsible for monitoring money lending, contends that there is little it can do.