Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I think that is provided for in legislation. When drafting head 9, will the officials ensure that in a situation where somebody is legitimately injured, he or she will automatically qualify for social benefit payments and that, as the supplementary welfare allowance will already have been deducted from their payments, there will be no charge on any rebate due? In other words, will they ensure there is no double charge in that instance?

On the section dealing with fraud, I agree with Senator Kevin Humphreys that the system of penalties to be applied by judges in courts which are separate from the Legislature and the Executive is very severe. It is constitutionally shaky to introduce a separate system of penalties. At the very minimum, there should be some provision in the legislation to allow for penalties imposed by the Minister to be taken into account by the court when passing sentence or vice versa. Having two regimes of penalties is constitutionally very shaky. I am still not convinced that increased visibility will deter people who deliberately set out to defraud the social welfare system anymore than would publication of a list of individuals who defraud credit unions, banks and so on. With no disrespect to the officials, the only effect of the campaign thus far, of which I am aware, is an increase in the number of people making complaints about their neighbours and asking for them to be investigated. I would not claim credit for that. We have not yet had adequate explanations for this fraud campaign, although, based on the answers we have received to date, I have a fair idea from where it originated.