Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

The Deputy is right. There are genuine cases where genuine mistakes are made. There is an appeals mechanism for people who feel they have been treated harshly. However, we must also ensure that people play by the rules. If there is no consequence for people who do not play by the rules, there will be breaches everywhere. It is important to make the distinction between people who make a genuine mistake and those who are trying to play the system. The vast majority of people here play by the rules. They fill out the forms, or work with advisers to do so, and draw down their payments as they should. If people believe they have been harshly treated, there is an appeals mechanism and they should use it.

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