Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for attending. I thank staff in the Department of Social Protection, in particular, for all of the work they have done in processing the huge number of claims in recent years. I have also had the chance to observe over time the responsiveness of the Department on day-to-day issues. It is set apart from every other Department, in my experience as a Deputy. I get a response and a representation number and matters are followed up without the need to issue a reminder. The Department is exceptionally responsive and I thank all of the staff, through Mr. McKeon. Being able to get back to people is very much appreciated. That is my experience. I thank him again for coming in as I know he has not been well.

The PUP was an extraordinary piece of work. Mr. McKeon spoke about the different information systems that have been built up. This week, the system has been reopened. For people who have been able to apply, it has been a great system, but I will go into some of the concerns about fraud. What are Mr. McKeon's concerns about the scale of potentially fraudulent PUP claims? What is the Department doing to prevent that this time around? What are Mr. McKeon's thoughts about people who have made a PUP claim and did not have a PRSI background with the Department? We have some other questions on the eligibility of the self-employed. How easy was it to distinguish how and whether somebody was self-employed? One of the great successes of the PUP is how well it worked. One of the concerns people have is how it may have been manipulated by some.