asked the Minister for Social Welfare if she will consider introducing a limited credit facility under the supplementary welfare scheme where people could get access to small loans to meet contingencies, in view of the very high level of recourse to unscrupulous moneylenders for these purposes at present.

The scheme of supplementary welfare allowances is a flexible one and community welfare officers have a large degree of discretion which enables them to give assistance in cases of genuine hardship or exceptional need. Assistance under the scheme can be given to persons involved with moneylenders but it would be of advantage to persons in this situation to seek advice from their community welfare officers in the first instance before having recourse to moneylenders.

While the supplementary welfare allowance scheme is mainly a basic income maintenance scheme, it does, however, provide for once-off payments to meet special needs. This, undoubtedly, is the area which gives rise to resort to moneylenders by some people and I would have grave doubts about revising the supplementary welfare allowance scheme to enable money lending facilities to be provided in addition.

A more fundamental review would be necessary to see what might be the best approach in this matter and this will be done in the context of the overall review of the social welfare system which is being undertaken following the submission recently of the report of the Commission on Social Welfare.

Is it not the case at present that when people who might be caught by high rates demanded by unscrupulous moneylenders look for assistance under the supplementary welfare system, in effect, money from the taxpayers will end up indirectly in the hands of such moneylenders demanding usurious rates? Is it not the case that there is a genuine need for moneylending to social welfare recipients? There is no other source they can turn to at present as the banks and credit unions would require a savings record. Would the Minister not see that there is a gap in the present social welfare code which needs to be filled and perhaps rather than waiting for a global re-examination of the social welfare system, would she consider a pilot scheme in a particularly sensitive area?

I should like to reiterate what I said about the supplementary welfare allowance scheme being a flexible one. Indeed, a considerable degree of discretion can be exercised by community welfare officers. It might be putting the cart before the horse to try to change the social welfare system to deal with a system which the Deputy describes as imperfect. The rights and wrongs of moneylending are not a question for me, but rather a question for the Minister for Justice.

It will certainly not be a suitable question for Question Time.

I am not convinced that the social welfare system needs to be changed since it is flexible. I repeat that people who find themselves dealing with contingencies should first consult with their community welfare officer.