Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Thursday, 20 October 2016
Public Accounts Committee
2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 37 - Department of Social Protection
Chapter 9 - Regularity of Social Welfare Payments
Chapter 10 - Roll-out of the Public Services Card
Social Insurance Fund 2015
9:00 am
Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source
I thank Ms O'Donoghue and her team. Nothing irks the average taxpayer more than welfare fraud or benefits fraud as they call it in the UK. It is a real scourge that is difficult to police. Ms O'Donoghue referred to the savings that have been made from the detection of fraud. When clients commit fraud and are caught are they put on a naughty list or blacklisted? How does the Department keep checks and balances on the behaviour of offenders into the future? I take into account that people redeem themselves and try to become law abiding citizens. What does the Department do to ensure compliance with the law?