Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Thursday, 14 March 2013
Public Accounts Committee
2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 38 – Social Protection
Chapter 21 – Expenditure on Welfare and Employment Schemes
Chapter 22 – Welfare Overpayment Debts
Chapter 23 – Regularity of Social Welfare Payments
Social Insurance Fund – Annual Accounts 2011
12:15 pm
Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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Ms O'Donoghue is missing my point. There have been 90 staff in SIU for the last number of years. Clearly, it is not having the necessary impact if the levels of fraud detection are at 0.44% of overall spend. I am on the public record on this point. Given the set of skills they have, there was an opportunity to adopt a strategic direction when community welfare officers transferred as a group. They were the group which was administering rent supplement, which is a social welfare payment. They were on the ground. They know the people. I am amazed that no community welfare officer is involved in the area. I understand the point that there is an open competition, but this is surely an issue of the Department using the skills that are at its disposal.