Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chairperson and members for the invitation to discuss the 2013 Revised Estimates for my Department. I will try to keep my opening statement as brief as possible.

The Department has supplied material for the use of the committee in the changed format designed to better reflect the new performance budgeting approach to the Estimates process. My officials will continue to work with the committee and Oireachtas officials to refine this approach. Since becoming Minister, I have overseen a programme of policy and organisational change unprecedented in the history of the Department. As part of this, the Department has successfully completed one of the most significant mergers in the history of the Irish public service, while at the same time reducing expenditure and meeting increased demand for benefits. The merger involved the transfer of more than 1,700 posts and a variety of schemes and services from other Departments to the Department of Social Protection.

The Department has smoothly implemented the transfer while dealing with the three fundamental forces transforming its operations. These include reduced budgets and greater demand for schemes arising from the economic crisis; moving from the passive benefits provider of old to a public employment service that is actively assisting people back to work, training or education; and the reality of demographic change that is increasing the Department’s spending on older people year-on-year. In 2013, I had to make provision for an additional €190 million for the increasing number of pensioners. I have had to seek additional funds every year since I became Minister. Since 2009, the Department has implemented cost-saving measures which have cumulatively reduced expenditure by more than €3 billion. At the same time, the number of people in receipt of a weekly welfare payment has increased from 1.209 million people at the end of 2008 to 1.476 million people at the end of May this year – an increase of approximately 267,000 people. Therefore, it can be fairly said that the Department has risen to the challenge of implementing unprecedented structural reform while contributing significantly to the necessary consolidation in the public finances and, most importantly, offering a safety net to those who need it.

In 2013, the Department will spend €20.243 billion on a wide range of schemes, services and administration. At the end of May, 1,476,000 persons were in receipt of a weekly payment in respect of 2,283,000 beneficiaries, as well as a further 614,000 families in receipt of a monthly child benefit payment for approximately 1.2 million children. The scale of these numbers alone means that our payments and services impact on the lives of almost everybody in the State. The immediate impact of the social transfers we make has an impact on poverty levels. Social transfers reduce the at-risk-of-poverty levels in the State by more than 60% - the most effective performance in the EU. The second impact of our expenditure, which is sometimes forgotten, is the contribution it is making to the country’s economic recovery. The spend of my Department puts money in the tills of almost every business and shop in the State in a very immediate way as our customers spend their benefits and pensions each week, thereby maintaining domestic employment and economic activity.

Any consideration of further budgetary measures must have regard to both of these crucial facts.

The service traditionally provided by my Department in providing income supports will continue. However, one of my priorities since becoming Minister has been to transform the Department from the passive benefits provider of old to one that actively assists jobseekers in returning to work, which includes engaging with employers to help them to secure the employees they need. In that regard, the new integrated employment and support service, Intreo, was launched in the Sligo office last year. There are now 12 Intreo offices up and running, with many more to come before the end of this year. Intreo is a one-stop shop where jobseekers can, for the first time, obtain their income and employment supports in the one place. These employment supports include tailored personal progression plans and a range of other services.

Another significant development has been the completion of a number of information technology modernisation projects in the Longford office. Although there has been a negative impact on claim processing in the short term, the backlogs in these areas have been largely cleared. For example, the family income support scheme is now totally up to date and delivering a fast and efficient service to workers.

In regard to fraud, it is important to state the vast majority of those in receipt of social welfare benefits are claiming only the entitlements due to them. As such, it is essential that we respect the majority and maintain public confidence in the system by vigorously tackling any fraudulent activity. Two recent developments in this area are the introduction of legislation to recover a higher level of overpayments and the recently concluded predictive risk analytics project. The objective of this project was to establish whether fraud investigation and control could be enhanced through the application of new models and technologies. The project will help to inform future decisions with regard to the further application and business development of these technologies. In addition, inspectors in the Department now have powers to detect social welfare fraud at ports and airports and are using these powers successfully.

Approximately 250,000 public service cards have been issued. These will enable individuals to gain access to public services more efficiently and with a minimum of duplication of effort, while at the same time preserving their privacy to the maximum extent possible. The cards will also play a crucial role in further eliminating fraud from the system.

I hope my very quick run-through has given members a flavour of what the Department is doing with the money contributed by taxpayers and PRSI payees to support fellow citizens, particularly those who have had the misfortune to lose their employment or business.