Shane Cassells (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome Mr. McKeon and his team and thank them for their detailed note. Huge areas are covered by the Department and Mr. McKeon confirms that its customers are a huge part of our life and are made up of people of all ages, all demographics, rather than just people on the dole. There are three special chapters in the Comptroller and Auditor General's report that we are discussing, along with the appropriation accounts, this morning. I will start by focusing on the level of irregular payments made by the Department.

With an overall budget of €11 billion, the moneys involved in this Vote are substantial. This issue is topical. In January, the Department published the result of a control survey of the non-contributory State pension scheme. The scheme is a substantial piece of expenditure that accounted for some €1 billion in 2018. The Department examined 1,000 payments made during one week in 2017, at which time there were 99,000 beneficiaries. The survey touched on how 8.2% of claims were underpayments. As the Comptroller and Auditor General pointed out, there was a mix of underpayments and overpayments. People might believe that getting an overpayment is grand, but it causes difficulties for older people further down the road when they are hit with the repayment bill. I know of a woman who this year received a bill where €100,000 was the magnitude of the cumulative overpayment. She took a hit through no fault of her own. When her situation was reviewed, she was well into her 80s. The survey showed that 38% of claimants aged over 80 years were in receipt of an incorrect rate. Will Mr. McKeon briefly summarise the measures that the Department has taken to address the levels of irregular payments revealed in the control survey in January?