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The Impact of Debt Advice as a Response to Financial Difficulties in Ireland

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 December 2011

Stuart Stamp
Stuart Stamp*
Affiliation:
Department of Applied Social Studies, National University of Ireland, Maynooth E-mail: stuart.stamp@nuim.ie
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Abstract

Irish social policy has, since the early 1990s, prioritised debt advice as the primary policy tool for addressing over-indebtedness, targeting low-income households in particular. This article, which draws on secondary analysis of datasets and qualitative interviews, suggests that ‘person-centred’ debt advice plays a major role in alleviating personal over-indebtedness and its effects among this group. However, the government's objective that it should facilitate financial independence is unrealistic. For such debt advice to be effective, complimentary legal and institutional solutions to debt problems are required in Ireland. The dearth of financial options and resources available also needs to be addressed.

Keywords

Over-indebtednessdebt advicefinancial exclusionpoverty
Type
Themed Section on Household Finances under Pressure: What is the Role of Social Policy?
Information
Social Policy and Society , Volume 11 , Issue 1 , January 2012 , pp. 93 - 104
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

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