Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Like most Deputies, I strongly welcome the Bill, which gives effect to a number of social welfare and pension reforms. These changes will deliver savings to the Department of Social Protection, whose budget has been under serious pressure recently as a result of our economic circumstances. The Department has made substantial savings this year and hopes to achieve net savings of €390 million in the year ahead.

The Bill has two objectives, both of which will be welcomed by members of the public. I refer in particular to public concerns about the residence status of some of those who claim social welfare payments. The legislation proposes to address the problem of social welfare payments being fraudulently claimed by people who are not entitled to benefits. This type of fraud affects genuine recipients of social welfare benefits who need these payments to support themselves and their families. I was pleased to note a recent media report that 100 people were stopped at Dublin Airport on the basis that they were flying into the State to sign on and claim social welfare payments. This issue of welfare tourism was also highlighted some years ago when the ash cloud grounded aeroplanes throughout Europe and prevented people from overseas from travelling here to sign on. With economic circumstances so tight, it is vital that only those in need of assistance receive social welfare payments. Abuse of the system cannot be tolerated in any shape or form. I am concerned by a report that the Department detected 1,400 fraudulent claims made by people living outside Ireland in 2012. Perhaps the Minister will indicate how many such cases were detected in 2013. This is a serious issue on which Deputies receive many representations.

The second objective of the Bill is to strengthen control of social welfare overpayments and extend the powers to recover such overpayments. Any moneys that can be reclaimed by the State or savings made by the Department are very welcome, provided they are ring-fenced to provide assistance and relief to people who are on the poverty line. This money could be used in a clever manner, for example, to reinstate the Christmas bonus or extend the period for which fuel allowance is paid. Pensioners and senior citizens, many of whom rely solely on the State pension for an income, are facing additional pressure, with those who do not have an additional source of private income finding it increasingly difficult to make ends meet.

If the moneys are ring-fenced, that would be a good initiative on the part of the Government.

Benefits fraud is a major issue. I note the Department is constantly setting targets. A target of €710 million in control measures has been proposed for this year, and all of us in this House hope that figure will be achieved.

I am glad to see that the area of identification by social welfare recipients has been improved upon and that photo identification and a signature are captured on the computer system of the Department rather than the old system where a person needed merely a PPS number or a public service card to confirm his or her identity. Clearly, the new improvements will make a difference to ensure those who need help and support and are genuine are the ones who get it.

The figures reported for fraud in social welfare have doubled from 2011 to 2012, with 28,000 reports being made to the Department in 2012 by members of the public. Figures show there are significant savings being made. The Department saved €91 million in misspent jobseeker's benefits, €173 million in one-parent family payments and €83 million in child benefits in 2012, and it is continuing along the same lines. Constituents have come to us who have noted that they know of people who are claiming for benefits to which they are not entitled. Confidence will be restored when all these cases are individually reviewed, which is an ongoing issue with the Department where it is constantly trying to identify the areas which could be at high risk and prone to fraud.

No doubt the new welfare card system will contribute to decreasing the amount of benefit fraud. Recipients will have their photograph and signature recorded electronically. Under the Bill, the identify authentication requirements have been extended to those already in receipt of welfare payments, with those who refuse to comply with the new requirements putting themselves at risk of having their benefits stopped. That is significant.

As I stated, there are people in this country who are genuinely in need of financial support where social welfare acts as a safety net. There are many who are genuinely looking for employment but who have difficulty in finding it because of the current economic situation. Perhaps they are not qualified enough in the line of work for which vacancies are available and they are trying to retrain to get themselves up to the suitable standard, for which they must be supported and applauded. The Government must support the unemployed in any way it can, particularly those who are genuine in their search for work.

I think everyone in this House agrees that those who are claiming multiple benefit payments or falsely claiming benefits under someone else's identity should be stopped from doing so. Benefit fraud not only has a financial effect, but also does a disservice to those genuinely in receipt of welfare payments.

The Bill also deals with the transition of those in receipt of one-parent family payment to jobseeker's allowance whereby parents with a child over the age of seven will be placed on a targeted version of jobseeker's allowance called jobseeker's transition. The transition period will allow lone parents who have been out of the job market for some time and who may have difficulty in securing child care for their children to seek work on a part-time rather than a full-time basis, and they will be exempt as well from a number of conditions for jobseeker's allowance for a transitional period.

Lone parents who may find it difficult to meet the new requirements that have been set for the payment and who are genuinely trying to seek full-time work will not have to meet this requirement, especially if their children are between the ages of seven and 14. Instead, they will be able to take part in training and education opportunities to help them become ready for employment when their parenting obligations are less intense in the future. It is my understanding that there will be public information meetings and a letter sent to these lone parents regarding the changes that are being made here. Perhaps that has already happened.

There are other measures in the Bill, including changes to the Pensions Board, which aims to increase consumer trust in the area of pensions and understanding of the role of the Pensions Board and pensions generally. It is very important that anyone of working age provides for his or her retirement and is not totally dependent on the State pension because nobody knows the amount it will be in the future as the population naturally increases and the demand on pensions increases. There is much talk of a pensions time-bomb in the future as well. Pensions are a topical issue.

The Bill also includes changes in liability for PRSI to broaden the PRSI base, thus supporting the Social Insurance Fund to continue paying pensions and benefits to those who need them. There is also reference to index information being made available online, particularly in the area of births, deaths, marriages and civil partnerships. Historical indices now will be online and the public will be able to search them and look for such information in a more timely manner. In the area of genealogy and research, where the diaspora and others are interested in knowing who they are and where they have come from, such information will be available online. That is a good development and is to be welcomed.

Another area dealt with in the Bill is redundancy payments. There are employers who, where businesses fail, are not in a position to pay a redundancy lump sum in a timely manner, and in that case it is the Department of Social Protection that makes those payments upfront. It is important to ensure those moneys continue to be paid in a timely manner to those who rely on them, particularly where they lose a job suddenly.

I welcome the Bill. No doubt it will make a positive impact on people's lives. The public welcome the tightening up of benefit fraud and the new checks and balances that will be put in place.

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