Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. As part of the claims approval process, claims were checked to ensure the claimant had a valid personal public service, PPS, number and other identity details. Checks were carried out whenever applications were submitted. In 2020, over 52,000 reviews were carried out by the Department's special investigation unit, with over 17,000 claims closed, while a further 19,400 reviews were carried out by other departmental staff, with approximately 5,800 claims closed. Claimants were asked to confirm their eligibility on a number of occasions through online declarations in July 2020 and July 2021. All claimants were asked to confirm their eligibility and in March 2021, 122,000 individuals who were in payment since March 2020 were also asked to confirm their eligibility.

In June this year, 6,000 claimants were requested to attend offices to sign on and this exercise is currently being repeated with almost 20,000 claimants currently being invited to attend offices. Regular checks against Revenue records are being made.

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