Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I will begin with Senator Marie Louise O'Donnell's question on fraud and the roll-out of the personal services card. The card contains a biometric standard photograph. When we sign somebody up for it, we also take an electronic signature. Instead of having to fill in details when a person goes back to the office, the card is swiped, the person's photo comes up and if he or she signs on for something, his or her previous ten signatures come up on the screen also. It is quite an improvement in terms of identity verification. The Senator might be familiar with the photographs taken at airport security points and so on. If a person has been visiting the social welfare office in Ballymun, the IT system will tell us if he or she has also been visiting the office in Blanchardstown. It will query whether this is the same person, owing to the fact that the photograph is of a biometric standard. That happens regularly because there is a small but significant problem of people abusing the social welfare system by accumulating a number of separate identities. I have seen photographs of people clean shaven and smiling at the start of a week and at the end of it with a bit of a beard for a photograph in another office. As it happens, all of the photographs I have seen have been of men. As I am sure there are photographs of women also, perhaps the hairdo might be different. Having photographs of biometric quality means social welfare offices get the message. It is a very important one.

The Department's ability to roll out the cards depends on co-operation from the OPW to install the correct IT standard and arrange for the required office overhaul and refurbishment work. The roll-out is also being carried out in additional offices, but we will be constrained if high quality IT connections are not available. Work is under way throughout the country to overhaul the major 63 Department of Social Protection offices.

It is estimated that this year the Department will prevent the further spending of over €700 million on social welfare payments by use of the systems for checking information and identity checks. Senator Mary Moran asked about the position in Border areas. The Department co-operates with the Garda Síochána and the Customs service in having multi-agency vehicle checkpoints. The Department also regularly inspects taxi ranks. This is extremely popular with those working on taxi ranks in places such as Dublin Airport because they believe their livelihoods are being threatened by people coming to work for part of the day or evening and taking work from full-time taxi-drivers. We work in co-operation with officials on all parts of the island and this has proved very helpful. The Social Welfare Bill enables the Department to carry out checks at airports if people are thought to be travelling back to the country. These are Irish people and also individuals who may have migrated to Ireland and then left the country, but they return to claim social welfare benefits. We have stopped quite a number of people at different airports and some have been before the courts. The Department immediately stops payments to anyone found in this situation until clarification is provided.

I will provide Senator Marie Louise O'Donnell with a list of the 37 organisations I met on Friday. They range from the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and Social Justice Ireland to the Carers Association and organisations dealing with older people and lone parents. These are four of the five key advocacy lobbying organisations. The Ballymun project is EU-funded and I will provide the details for the Senator. It will co-ordinate the work of all the agencies involved. The Senator's institution, DCU, has a very strong profile in supporting educational access programmes in Ballymun, a number of which I had the privilege of attending. The EU funding amounts to €250,000 to allow for inter-agency co-operation between the VEC, community workers and my Department in working with young people. For example, the job centre in Ballymun will provide more opportunities for young people.