Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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What procedures has the Department put in place to ensure that something of this nature will never happen again? What is being done to prevent it happening right now? We are discussing fraud at a time when ordinary people who are in receipt of social welfare payments are under enormous pressure. The Department is trying to make payments to them as quickly as possible. These individuals are often directed to their local CWOs and in many instances it is not possible to obtain payments for them. A number of these people are very deserving of payment. It is extremely important that there is flexibility in the system. However, one individual has taken €1 million in taxpayers' money to use for their own ends. That person held a position of enormous responsibility and what was done has undermined the system. The actions of the individual involved were extremely unfair to other staff who work in the Department of Social Protection, to ordinary people who are in receipt of social welfare payments and to the taxpayers whose money funds the system. What procedures has the Department put in place to ensure that something of this nature is not happening now and that it will not occur in the future?