Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

A memorandum of understanding between the Government of Ireland and the Government of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland concerning co-operation and mutual assistance in the administration of social security schemes was signed on 9 October 2000. The memorandum provides for the establishment of a management committee, which meets several times a year and oversees and directs the programme of mutual co-operation and assistance. The operations forum directed by the committee meets once per quarter to co-operate and assist in facilitating the investigation of social security benefit fraud with a cross-Border dimension. It undertakes individual fraud investigations and larger projects. It is also committed to sharing best practice in counter fraud operations.

The report of the operations forum for the year ended March 2007 states that six projects undertaken in that year resulted in seven prosecutions and a further 15 cases being considered for prosecution. Under the memorandum of understanding, considerable benefit has been derived by my Department in preventing cross-Border fraud. Procedures are in place to deal with ongoing referrals, fraud and non-fraud through a single point of contact in each jurisdiction. Referrals are made for a variety of reasons, for example, to establish whether there is an existing claim in payment in either jurisdiction, to establish contribution details for a pension or to ascertain payment details as part of an investigation for a means-tested payment.

In the year ended March 2007 my Department received a total of 700 inquiries from Northern Ireland and 100 inquiries from Great Britain. Belfast operations intelligence unit is the single point of contact for non-fraud referrals or inquiries for my Department, relating to jobseeker's allowance, incapacity benefit and income support. This unit carried out a total of 4,000 checks in the year ended March 2007. Fraud inquiries are dealt with on a case-by-case basis, by fax, to the national intelligence unit in Folkstone. Similar arrangements are also in place for fraud and non-fraud inquiries, with the pensions service, Newcastle-upon-Tyne for pensions and the disability benefit unit, Blackpool for disabled living allowance.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House.

In addition, in July 2004, a social welfare inspector was assigned to the Garda National Immigration Bureau to assist my Department and the bureau in the investigation of social welfare fraud and breaches of the immigration Acts, to provide information and intelligence and to promote the benefits of a multi-agency approach to immigration and employment law enforcement. A second inspector was assigned to the bureau in August 2006.

A joint control exercise is undertaken periodically at airports and ports in the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and Great Britain. It involves personnel from the Garda National Immigration Bureau, my Department and the United Kingdom immigration service. Social welfare inspectors assigned to the Garda National Immigration Bureau conducted inquiries into 600 social welfare customers in 2006, achieving savings of €3.5 million, and 415 social welfare customers up to the end of November 2007, achieving savings of €3.61 million.

See this speech in context