There's been calls for a cap on the amount of interest moneylenders can charge ahead of Christmas.

Sinn Féin's Mary Lou McDonald has called for certain lenders to be capped to avoid families getting into onerous debt.

She has described the lack of legislation in the area as "state-sponsored robbery", and told deputies that some people availing of such loans end up paying "extortionate rates".

Deputy McDonald argued: "Moneylenders are getting rich on the back of hard-pressed people who are simply trying to provide for their families.

"They can do that because the system in place allows them to do so... and there is an urgent need to introduce a cap on interest rates that these types of outfits can charge".

Leo Varadkar said he shared Deputy McDonald's concerns over high interest loans, and urged anyone in need of a loan to consider alternatives such as low-cost credit union loans.

He highlighted that the financial sector - including moneylenders - is independently regulated by the Central Bank and not the Government.

However, he added they'd consider any legislation put forward.

Meanwhile, Governor of the Central Bank Philip Lane defended the regulator's decisions to licence moneylenders here.

He argued: "Once they're authorised we can regulate them, we can supervise them, we can check to make sure they're following the rules."

Reporting by Sean Defoe and Stephen McNeice