The future of the Citizen's Advice Bureau in Enniskillen has been secured for the next three years following funding from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment.

Economy Minister Nigel Dodds announced the £1.2million contract which will extend the service by Citizens Advice for another three years, as well as provide 12 full-time money advice workers and a central research and development post.

The contract enables Citizens Advice to continue with the provision of free, effective, high quality debt advice at centres across Northern Ireland, with a particular emphasis on one-to-one debt advice in areas where consumers have limited access to this kind of help and assistance.

Welcoming the continuation of the service Minister Dodds said: "My department has provided £800,000 to Citizens Advice over the last two years to place debt advisers throughout Northern Ireland.

"This new contract, worth an additional £1.2million, extends this service for a further three years, meaning continued support for the provision of debt advice centres," he continued.

"This is a very important and welcome service for customers across Northern Ireland, and it will supplement the valuable work that continues to be done in the wider voluntary sector."

Over the first year of the 2006/08 contract the debt advice service assisted nearly 2,000 clients, dealing with £15million of debt. There were 160 new clients coming to the service every month to seek help finding their way out of a debt situation.

The average indebtedness of the client base was found to be £9,000.