Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Question 278: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the checks his Department carries out to verify the State pension claims of the 37,000 non-resident pensioners; the mechanism to periodically check to ensure that such pensions are not continuing to be paid where a non-resident pensioner may be deceased; and if he will make a statement on the adequacy of such controls. [15351/08]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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There are currently 246,000 customers in receipt of a State Pension (Contributory). Of these, some 37, 000 (15%) reside outside the State in some 63 countries. It is my Department's experience that the death of a State Pension (Contributory) recipient residing abroad is generally notified to the pension section, without delay, either by a spouse, a surviving relative or by a financial institution. Notifications of customer deaths are received on a daily basis through the customer contact centre, in writing and via e-mail. Pension payments are stopped on receipt of these notifications and appropriate action initiated.

My Department has put arrangements in place with a number of foreign institutions to ensure that we are notified when a recipient of state pension (contributory) resident outside the state dies. In this regard, the Department works in close co-operation with the Department of Social Development in Northern Ireland and the Department of Work and Pensions in the United Kingdom and arrangements are underpinned by a Memorandum of Understanding between these organisations. Under this agreement, the Ireland and UK authorities explore ways in which data can be exchanged between administrations for control purposes, subject to the provisions of domestic and data protection legislation. In addition, at the start of each year a mailshot issues to all state pension (contributory) customers resident abroad notifying them of their new pension rate and reminding them to let the Department know of any changes to their circumstances that would affect their entitlements. Any letters retuned undelivered receive urgent attention. This process acts as an additional control measure.

As part of the Department's ongoing control strategy, periodic reviews are undertaken in order to determine customers' continuing eligibility for pension. In this regard the Department has initiated a customer certification process for state pension (contributory) customers resident in Ireland and abroad. Letters issue to customers for completion and return of a certificate within a specified time. Follow-up action is taken where no reply is received from the customer or where the letter is returned undelivered. To this end, some 1,000 letters have issued to State Pension (Contributory) customers. Of these, 300 were issued to pension recipients resident outside of the State. It is planned to issue a further 7,000 letters to State Pension (Contributory) customers resident abroad by the end of 2008. Follow-up action will be taken where no reply is received from the customer or where the letter is returned undelivered.

A further part of my Department's ongoing control strategy is in the form of a control arrangement which has been established with the Australian Centrelink authorities whereby my Department receives a monthly electronic file of deaths where an Irish State pension is in payment. My Department is represented at a Working Group set up by the European Commission, which is examining EU-wide controls and data-sharing arrangements with the aim of tackling fraud and error across EU states. My Department is also a member of the Six Nations Group involving Australia, Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom and the United States of America, which addresses and agrees common approaches on control issues and the sharing of information.

I am committed to ensuring that social welfare payments are available to those who are entitled to them. I am satisfied that measures are in place to ensure that payments to customers resident outside the State are stopped when they are deceased. The Department's control programme is carefully monitored and the various measures are continuously refined to ensure that they remain effective.