Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 22:

In page 21, between lines 7 and 8, to insert the following:

"(2) The powers conferred on the Minister by sections 14, 16 and 17 shall not be utilised until after the Department of Social Protection make all reasonable efforts to recover these payments through installed repayments.".

This amendment does not relate to people who are defrauding the system but to people who, on the basis of a mistake on their own part or the part of the Department, find themselves owing money to the Department, in other words, cases of overpayment. Normally in such circumstances the Department demands repayment and this is done by way of instalments deducted from a person's social welfare payments. The Minister proposes to change the position to give the Department the power to take back an overpayment in one lump sum. I reiterate that the persons concerned are victims of a genuine mistake, rather than fraudsters. As I and other Deputies pointed out on Second Stage, some of those affected may need the lump sum and we could cite several examples where this is the case.

The purpose of the amendment is to ensure discretion is exercised in this matter. Rather than the Department dipping its hand into a person's lump sum and taking back the precise amount owed, it should first seek to make an instalment arrangement, provided it is appropriate in the circumstances to do so. I accept the Minister's point that in some cases people have other resources from which the overpayment can be returned.

My amendment does not fully capture the objective I am seeking to achieve. I attempted to change the text but did not have an opportunity to do so because of the short period between Committee Stage and Report Stage. As the Minister will be aware, Deputies were given a briefing by departmental officials in advance of the Bill being introduced in the House. When I raised this issue I was informed that discretion would be exercised and each case would be considered on its merits. I accept that will be the case and the Department will not demand that the full amount be repaid immediately in every single case. However, the decision in all cases will be at the discretion of the relevant social welfare official. While I have come across social welfare officials who are extremely reasonable, decent and very easy to deal with, unfortunately others I have encountered could not be described in such terms. The position of the person in respect of whom an overpayment has been made depends on the official with whom he or she is dealing. Being at the mercy of an official means a person can be lucky or unlucky. If it is intended that such cases should be examined on an individual basis, guidelines should be laid down in the Bill to narrow the discretion available to officials.

In many cases, the decision by the Department as to whether to take an overpayment by way of a lump sum from moneys to which a person is entitled to receive from the Department or another Department can make a great difference. A guiding principle should apply to such cases. If it is intended that restraint should be exercised, depending on circumstances, this intention should be reflected in the legislation.

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