Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)

The Minister accepts the mistake was made by the Department. An arbitrary decision was taken as a result. It is not necessarily the case that people with bank accounts are more solvent. Many of those who contacted me genuinely believed the payment was a bonus. No consultation took place with representative organisations, such as Age Action Ireland, the Carers Association of Ireland and others, before the letter was sent out and the Department did not offer people leeway. Many elderly people went without for the week in question because they are too proud to seek money from a community welfare officer. This has been the difficulty. I agree with Deputy Penrose that it was wrong to take this course of action. The claw-back should have been spread over a number of weeks, regardless of the administrative difficulties this may have caused. It was the Department that made the mistake, not the recipients with bank accounts.

Whether one calls it an advance or a double payment, the reality is that people suffered. Many welfare recipients contacted me to relate the difficulty they experienced as a consequence of this arbitrary action. I hope it will not happen again. Does the Minister agree there should have been consultation on this issue with the groups that represent those affected?

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