Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

This is a pilot scheme. It is envisaged that the secondment will be for a period of 12 months. The proposal has been progressed by the Department, the Department of Justice and Equality and An Garda Síochána. The primary function of any garda assigned to the Department's special investigation unit will be to investigate allegations or to initiate investigations into social welfare fraud. The role will be consistent with the functions already performed by officers in the special investigation unit, SIU. These officers will be responsible for fraud investigation and to ensure control activity is undertaken within the three main pillars of the Department's compliance and anti-fraud strategy, namely, prevention, detection and deterrence. Officers will be required to collate and assemble suitable evidence to enable a deciding officer to review an entitlement to a social welfare payment and in certain circumstances to use in legal proceedings where offences have been committed under the Social Welfare Act.

The gardaí will be working closely in collaboration with other compliance and fraud investigation agencies to ensure social welfare abuse is comprehensively deterred and detected. They will participate in operations such as the joint investigation unit operations with Revenue, the taxi regulator and the National Employment Rights Agency, as well as multi-agency vehicle checks. This inter-agency activity is a key element to assist in fraud investigation, and the shadow or hidden economy will be a key priority for joint investigations.

In serious cases of identity fraud or multiple claiming of allowances, gardaí assigned to the Department will be actively engaged in the detection and prosecution of such cases. There is also scope for them to be engaged in the investigation of cases at ports and airports to deal with what is termed welfare tourism. This will give an enhanced capacity to detect this practice.

Invitations have been issued for applications and more than 200 have been received. The locations for the scheme will be the Dublin metropolitan area, Dundalk, Letterkenny, Monaghan, Longford, Galway, Cork, Limerick, Navan and Sligo. Successful applicants will be seconded to the Department's special investigation unit. An interview board has been constituted comprising a Garda superintendent and inspector as well as the principal officer who holds the national management responsibility for the special investigation unit.

Any garda seconded to the Department will be issued with a certificate of secondment which will clearly identify that he or she is appointed to work with the Department. This certificate will include a photograph of the person concerned. I wish to reassure the Deputy and the public that, as a matter of practice, departmental investigators identify and produce their certificate of appointment to all persons they deal with.

The change in the Bill to remove the phrase “in uniform” is being made, first, to achieve consistency between section 250(16) of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 which currently requires a social welfare inspector to be accompanied by a member of the Garda Síochána in uniform and section 250(16B) which, while also requiring a social welfare inspector to be accompanied by a member of the Garda Síochána, does not have an in uniform condition. The second reason for the removal of the phrase is to allow for gardaí seconded to the Department to accompany social welfare inspectors carrying out activities under section 16 without the requirement to be in uniform. This is a practical issue. The seconded members remain members of the Garda Síochána and they are appointed to the Department of Social Protection with appropriate photographic identification. I repeat that this is a pilot scheme and there will be an opportunity to review its operation in due course.

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