Celebrating 30 years of MABS!

At MABS, we have been serving the community with money, budgeting and debt advice for 30 years.  

This week marks the opening of the first MABS offices back in 1992. Since then, we have spent time in the community providing support and getting to know and work with thousands of people and local organisations.  

Now, we feel it’s only right to share our celebrations with you. 

A little bit of history 

Established in 1992, MABS started as a pilot scheme to address the problems of money lending and indebtedness. Our first offices were located in Cork City, Clare, Limerick, Waterford, and Cherry Orchard in Dublin. There are now 51 MABS offices and outreach clinics nationwide. 

Over the past 30 years, MABS has been present in the community across several areas, including money management education, Abhaile – free mortgage arrears support and the formation of National Traveller MABS, which works to reduce poverty, discrimination and the financial exclusion of Travellers in Ireland.  

MABS has and continues to be a key player in raising awareness of policy changes locally and nationally. We are active in providing guidance and solutions that influence practice reforms for those who are experiencing financial hardship. A recent example is our work with SVP and the energy providers to set up hardship funds for those who cannot pay their household energy bills. 

Empowering you to take control 

Helping people and hearing how we have helped many families and individuals has always been and continues to be the biggest highlight. We love reading your stories and how you’ve taken control of your financial journey.  

If you prefer to start on your own, you can use our website to work through your budget or learn about the different ways of tackling debt or how to prepare for the future. You can message us on WhatsApp or email us to get the ball rolling or call our helpline. You can also find your local office to set up an appointment if that’s your preference.  

Looking forward 

We continue to evolve and learn. Throughout the last 30 years, we’ve helped thousands of people to create a working household budget, empower people with education and financial wellbeing, tackle debt, or perhaps, remain in their homes with mortgage arrears support.  

The one constant we can count on is change. We have experienced the rise and fall of the so-called Celtic Tiger, the pandemic years, and now the challenges faced by the increases in the cost of living. It is fair to say we’ve seen it all, and we will continue to see many more.  

MABS will continue to be agile in the face of change. We’re here to listen and provide free, confidential and non-judgemental advice and support, now and for the next 30 years. 

If you have any questions or would like to speak to a member of MABS, call our National Helpline on 0818 07 2000 Monday to Friday, from 9am to 8pm, WhatsApp 086 035 3141 or request a callback if you want to talk confidentially about budgeting, problem debt or general financial matters.