Ms Niamh O'Donoghue:

The figure for overpayments identified has increased considerably in recent years, which is a direct result of the Department’s increased activity in this area at different stages in the evolution of a claim. The Deputy is quite right; I said in my opening statement that we had to achieve a balance between customer service and ensuring it was directed at the right people. We must keep that balance constantly in mind. It is a question of the degree to which we process a claim speedily versus the degree of investigation. That investigation will be informed by our risk identifiers.