Rise in numbers seeking help with debts reported
An agency which helps people sort out their finances dealt with a record number of new clients in the first three months of the year.
New figures from the Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS) point to the growing pressure of personal loans on people around the country.
MABS said it regularly deals with around 7,000 thousand new clients each quarter.
However in the first three months of 2012, that soared to just under 7,600.
Almost 3,350 of those were aged between 26 and 40, and the most common problem reported was personal loans.
MABS has more than 60 offices nationwide, and some of those have long waiting lists of people who need help with their finances.
At the agency's Blanchardstown office in Dublin, 122 people are waiting an average of two months for an appointment.
