The family of the girl pregnant as a result of rape are in debt to the family of the man alleged to have raped her, according to sources in the travelling community.
As a result of the debt, incurred some years ago, the girl's mother must hand over the children's allowance to that family each month. The man's family wait while the children's allowance money is collected. Members of the alleged rapist's family are known to be involved in money-lending and to seek interest payments of up to 100 per cent. They hold their debtors' children's allowance books between payment dates.
The Department of Social Welfare is preparing a response to a report, Access to Credit Facilities for the Travelling Community in the Greater Dublin Area, published recently by several traveller organisations.
The report highlights the difficulties travellers have in getting access to credit. It recommends the creation of a support system to link travellers to the Money Advice and Budgeting Service, a service run by the Department of Social Welfare but little used by travellers.
Meanwhile, a professional working with the travelling community in Dublin said that "whatever way it goes for her, it is going to be awful. There will be a stigma for her either way".
