Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

It is the Department's policy to investigate and pursue all overpayments so as to protect public moneys to the greatest extent possible. People who have received an overpayment from the Department have a liability under law to refund the amounts involved. They have received moneys to which they were not entitled. In 2012, overpayments amounting to €97 million were recorded. This represents 0.47% of overall annual departmental expenditure. Recoveries in 2012 amounted to €53.5 million, which is considerably more than what was recovered previously.

Until the introduction of recent legislation, the Department was limited in its capacity to recover overpayments without the person’s agreement. For this reason, overpayments often remained outstanding for a long period of time. Deputies from all sides of the House who have been members of the Committee of Public Accounts will know that the Comptroller and Auditor General regularly took the Department to task about not having an active payment recovery system. The Social Welfare Act 2012 provides for greater recovery levels of up to 15% from the personal rate of a person’s social welfare payment without consent but excluding any payments received for dependent adults or children. This amendment means that the Department is now in a position to ensure that all debt-holders in receipt of a payment are repaying their debts. In addition, in order to improve the capacity to recover overpayments from persons no longer dependent on social welfare, the Social Welfare and Pensions (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2013 provides for the introduction of notice of attachment powers for the recovery of overpayments directly from a person’s earnings or from monies held by him or her in financial institutions.

I believe that having effective debt recovery is essential in deterring fraudulent activity. It creates a climate in which people who have been overpaid know that they have a responsibility to repay and that the Department will take the necessary steps to effect recovery. Both of the changes I have outlined above will significantly enhance the Department’s ability to pursue overpayments from people who are not making efforts to repay their debts.

My Department’s policy is to ensure that every effort is made to prevent overpayments, but if they occur, they are regarded as a debt to the Exchequer and every effort must be made to recover the amounts due. A social welfare overpayment will remain on record until it is fully recovered. Currently, the Department, unlike the Revenue Commissioners, does not apply interest or penalties on the amounts owing.

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