Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I wish to talk about head 4, and I raised this fraud issue a couple of weeks ago. I find it very unsettling and deeply inflammatory that the idea has been flagged.

Who came up with the idea, the officials or the Minister? This is a 21st century witch hunt of people who find themselves in a very precarious position. The ethos of social welfare is to protect the dignity of the citizen and it is nauseating to see this humiliation and naming and shaming of people in black and white. It is equivalent to a hate campaign. If someone is convicted by a court of committing a fraud to the amount of €1,000, will that person be named and shamed in a publication? I find it extraordinary that this information could be in newspapers and I am not being flippant when I say it could be on the sides of buses because the way this campaign is being run is pretty horrible. Who came up with this idea, spent so much money on it and went out with vitriol after certain people? I do not condone social welfare fraud but I have been in court when people are routinely humiliated to the point where they are left crying and traumatised. I have seen that at first hand. At the same time in this country there is corporate fraud but no one is named and shamed. There is one law for poor people and one for wealthy people. Who came up with the idea? What is its purpose? How far does this go? If this is allowed to pass into legislation what comes next? It would be productive if the witnesses could answer that question today.