Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)

I tabled this question on foot of the comments the Minister made about the issue of fraud during the debate on the Social Welfare Bill. The figures given on that occasion were stark. It was mentioned that a survey found that 1.7% of the 500 Irish nationals who were surveyed were involved in social welfare fraud, compared to a figure of 13.9% in the case of non-Irish nationals. It is clear that a significant number of people engage in fraud of this nature. The Minister mentioned that when it is balanced out, there is an overall level of fraud of 2.3%, which probably does not seem so bad. Was each of the payments being made to the 13.9% of non-Irish nationals and the 1.7% of Irish nationals immediately suspended? Were the payments which had been made under fraudulent circumstances reimbursed to the Department of Social and Family Affairs? Was legal action taken to ensure that the moneys which should not have been paid in the first instance were given back to the Department? The Minister briefly outlined the steps which are being taken to prevent social welfare fraud and ensure it does not happen so frequently. Are strengthening mechanisms proposed to ensure that fraud does not take place? The Minister mentioned that letters are being sought from schools etc. Is that happening on a regular basis? Is such an approach adopted only when a cohort of 1,000 cases has been examined? Is each child benefit application the subject of such control procedures?

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