Current Projects

Financial Exclusion

Following on from a briefing paper submitted in May 2006 entitled "Financial Exclusion:Failure to access Financial Services", National Traveller MABS hopes to make further contributions highlighting this issue for Travellers nationally.  It is anticipated that submissions from NTMABS will be part of the overall policy changes in relation to financial exclusion.

Illegal debt awareness

Following on from a seminar which took place last year with SDCC (South Dublin County Council), a meeting was arranged to discuss developing an information leaflet on Illegal Debt within the Traveller Community for Service providers in the south Dublin area.

It is anticipated that if this leaflet proves successful, it will be promoted within other city and county councils where there would be a large volume of Travellers living.

MABS Mapping Exercises

We undertook this exercise because we at National Traveller MABS are aware that Travellers, as part of MABS’ target group, are not well represented in overall client statistics for MABS nationally.

The exercise involved creating individual maps for each MABS highlighting the Traveller accommodation and population in their area.

A booklet was developed and distributed to each service nationwide.

Local Area Development

Following the creation and distribution of the mapping exercise booklets, it is anticipated that our money advice staff will meet with local MABS services, their local Traveller support group and, if any, their local Traveller Training Centre.

The aim of these meetings is to create links between the Traveller community and their local MABS.

Prisons Savings Scheme

In 2003, a proposal was submitted to the Irish Prison Services with regards to setting up Credit Union accounts within the prison system and their local credit union. This proposal has met with many obstacles over the past three years but is currently being discussed again with the local credit union and National Traveller MABS.

Since 2007, we have met with a Dublin based prison and their local credit union to discuss the possibility of introducing the scheme again.  Updates will be posted as they occur.

Funeral costs and illegal debt

National Traveller MABS acknowledges the financial pressure funerals place on the families of deceased members of the Traveller community. For many families on low incomes and with no savings record or insurance cover, the cost of funerals forces many into the hands of illegal moneylenders and unmanageable debt.

National Traveller MABS has begun to explore options suitable to the Traveller community, which may overcome this issue.