People struggling with debt are waiting over three months for an appointment at the MABS - Money Advice and Budgeting Service - Mayo South office, according to new figures.
The most recent statistics available, which cover the last quarter of the year up to December 2013, show some 47 people are waiting for face-to-face appointments with MABS Mayo South.
The office has the second-longest waiting time in the country, next only to Donegal North, where the waiting time is more than six months.
The national average waiting time for a MABS appointment is 4.5 weeks.
Sinn Féin’s EU Midlands North West candidate Matt Carthy described the waiting times as “shocking” and “unacceptable.”
“Mayo South has one of the longest waiting times, at 14.4 weeks,” he said. “That means if someone looks for an appointment with that office now, it will be almost June before they get seen. These waiting times may force families under pressure from banks to agree to unsustainable and unfair debt repayment agreements.”
