Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 1 May 2014

Public Accounts Committee

2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 37 - Social Protection
Chapter 16 - Expenditure on Welfare and Employment Schemes
Chapter 17 - Regularity of Social Welfare Payments
Chapter 18 - Welfare Overpayment Debts
Chapter 19 - Domiciliary Care Allowance
Chapter 20 - Invalidity Pension
Social Insurance Fund Annual Accounts 2012

12:45 pm

Photo of John DeasyJohn Deasy (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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Overpayments seem to be the topic of the day. The legislation made provision for reductions of 15% in welfare payments to provide for better recovery.

The Act also provided for the use of attachment orders. How effective and how widely utilised has this been since the enactment of the legislation? Previously, there was a deduction of €2 or €3 a week. We talked about this issue a couple of years ago and Ms O'Donoghue suggested the figure had ended up being included in the legislation. How has it worked out?