Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I welcome our guests and compliment them on the fantastic service they given to the Government over the past 21 months. The Department has certainly delivered. I commend Mr. McKeon who outlined in his opening statement on the manner in which it has built two IT systems. This has shown the level of delivery within the system and other Government Departments - the HSE comes to mind - might learn from Mr. McKeon’s Department in respect of implementation of IT systems.

The area I want to focus on first is the Department's compliance and anti-fraud strategy. Would the Department consider returning responsibility for all PUP and jobseeker payments to the post office network? We have a crazy situation at present regarding the viability of the post office network, especially in rural Ireland. At a recent meeting, An Post was looking for clarity on this matter. Surely, if someone has to present in person as opposed to having money paid into his or her bank account this would, in theory, help to combat fraud. During the pandemic, we have heard stories of people being abroad and claiming PUP. We have also heard that moving payments back to the post office network is something the postmasters have called for. It is a move that I would support, particularly for many rural communities. I would like to hear Mr. McKeon's thoughts on this.