Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Thursday, 1 December 2022
Public Accounts Committee
2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 37 - Social Protection - Social Insurance Fund 2021
Chapter 10: Regularity of social welfare payments
Chapter 11: The recovery of benefit and assistance payments following compensation awards
Chapter 14: Classification of workers for PRSI purposes
9:30 am
Mr. John McKeon:
Over the past year there has been a significant increase in the volume of additional needs payments compared to last year. They have gone back to the pre-Covid level, which was about 90,000 per year. It fell significantly during Covid but we are back up to the 90,000 per year level. We have noticed that when they were low, about 10% to 15% of cases were being rejected, while it is now between 30% and 40%. That has gone back to pre-Covid levels as well. We have a responsibility when somebody comes in and says they need help to check if it is an essential payment and if they have the means to pay it themselves.
No comments