Results 15,901-15,920 of 34,778 for speaker:Seán Fleming

Public Accounts Committee: Comptroller and Auditor General 2016 Report
Chapter 16: Regularity of Social Welfare Payments
Chapter 17: Management of Social Welfare Overpayments
Chapter 18: Department Reviews of welfare Schemes, Social Welfare Appeals Process, Social Insurance Fund (7 Dec 2017)

Seán Fleming: Ms Gordon is saying that of the 100% of applications submitted, 35% were given a favourable response by her office. People are not aware of this. We do hear of decisions being changed by deciding officers in the Department, but the tendency has been to give 100% of the credit for favourable appeal outcomes to the appeals office. However, Ms Gordon has indicated that in 40% of cases where...

Public Accounts Committee: Comptroller and Auditor General 2016 Report
Chapter 16: Regularity of Social Welfare Payments
Chapter 17: Management of Social Welfare Overpayments
Chapter 18: Department Reviews of welfare Schemes, Social Welfare Appeals Process, Social Insurance Fund (7 Dec 2017)

Seán Fleming: That information is not being made clear. We hear about the 60% of cases where a change is made, but it is now clear that a significant portion of them are being done by the Department.

Public Accounts Committee: Comptroller and Auditor General 2016 Report
Chapter 16: Regularity of Social Welfare Payments
Chapter 17: Management of Social Welfare Overpayments
Chapter 18: Department Reviews of welfare Schemes, Social Welfare Appeals Process, Social Insurance Fund (7 Dec 2017)

Seán Fleming: The information is not out there at all. I have seen examples in my constituency work, but I was not conscious of the significance of the portion of revised decisions that are taken within the Department rather than by the appeals office. It is good to have that information on the record and it reflects well on the appeals process. When a deciding officer makes a decision, a letter goes...

Public Accounts Committee: Comptroller and Auditor General 2016 Report
Chapter 16: Regularity of Social Welfare Payments
Chapter 17: Management of Social Welfare Overpayments
Chapter 18: Department Reviews of welfare Schemes, Social Welfare Appeals Process, Social Insurance Fund (7 Dec 2017)

Seán Fleming: Does it not apply to all schemes?

Public Accounts Committee: Comptroller and Auditor General 2016 Report
Chapter 16: Regularity of Social Welfare Payments
Chapter 17: Management of Social Welfare Overpayments
Chapter 18: Department Reviews of welfare Schemes, Social Welfare Appeals Process, Social Insurance Fund (7 Dec 2017)

Seán Fleming: It is only medical.

Public Accounts Committee: Comptroller and Auditor General 2016 Report
Chapter 16: Regularity of Social Welfare Payments
Chapter 17: Management of Social Welfare Overpayments
Chapter 18: Department Reviews of welfare Schemes, Social Welfare Appeals Process, Social Insurance Fund (7 Dec 2017)

Seán Fleming: Will Mr. McKeon clarify this for me?

Public Accounts Committee: Comptroller and Auditor General 2016 Report
Chapter 16: Regularity of Social Welfare Payments
Chapter 17: Management of Social Welfare Overpayments
Chapter 18: Department Reviews of welfare Schemes, Social Welfare Appeals Process, Social Insurance Fund (7 Dec 2017)

Seán Fleming: I understood that a decision gets made and a person can send in additional information directly to the Department. I can show Mr. McKeon umpteen letters. Maybe it has to do with the phraseology. I have been unable to understand them and if I cannot understand the Department's letters, the poor punter cannot do so either. I am not talking about the appeals office at all.

Public Accounts Committee: Comptroller and Auditor General 2016 Report
Chapter 16: Regularity of Social Welfare Payments
Chapter 17: Management of Social Welfare Overpayments
Chapter 18: Department Reviews of welfare Schemes, Social Welfare Appeals Process, Social Insurance Fund (7 Dec 2017)

Seán Fleming: Do many go to the Ombudsman? Do many get overturned? What percentage of cases are overturned having gone through the Department, its review and the appeals office? What percentage of cases would the Ombudsman make a change in after all that or do the witnesses know?

Public Accounts Committee: Comptroller and Auditor General 2016 Report
Chapter 16: Regularity of Social Welfare Payments
Chapter 17: Management of Social Welfare Overpayments
Chapter 18: Department Reviews of welfare Schemes, Social Welfare Appeals Process, Social Insurance Fund (7 Dec 2017)

Seán Fleming: Somebody who owes €20,000 or €30,000 or something like that.

Public Accounts Committee: Comptroller and Auditor General 2016 Report
Chapter 16: Regularity of Social Welfare Payments
Chapter 17: Management of Social Welfare Overpayments
Chapter 18: Department Reviews of welfare Schemes, Social Welfare Appeals Process, Social Insurance Fund (7 Dec 2017)

Seán Fleming: people are informed of their right to go to the Ombudsman at the end of the process.

Public Accounts Committee: Comptroller and Auditor General 2016 Report
Chapter 16: Regularity of Social Welfare Payments
Chapter 17: Management of Social Welfare Overpayments
Chapter 18: Department Reviews of welfare Schemes, Social Welfare Appeals Process, Social Insurance Fund (7 Dec 2017)

Seán Fleming: Could Ms Stack send us-----

Public Accounts Committee: Comptroller and Auditor General 2016 Report
Chapter 16: Regularity of Social Welfare Payments
Chapter 17: Management of Social Welfare Overpayments
Chapter 18: Department Reviews of welfare Schemes, Social Welfare Appeals Process, Social Insurance Fund (7 Dec 2017)

Seán Fleming: Ms Stack might send us a note. The Office of the Ombudsman will have the number of cases.

Public Accounts Committee: Comptroller and Auditor General 2016 Report
Chapter 16: Regularity of Social Welfare Payments
Chapter 17: Management of Social Welfare Overpayments
Chapter 18: Department Reviews of welfare Schemes, Social Welfare Appeals Process, Social Insurance Fund (7 Dec 2017)

Seán Fleming: From the Department's point of view, the system works very well in terms of its attachment orders. We have not mentioned that today. I have to say that I am aware of cases where having gone through the Ombudsman where a decision was contested, the decision came back to the Department and the Department then wrote to the individual and within 24 hours, it has its money. I have seen cases of...

Public Accounts Committee: Comptroller and Auditor General 2016 Report
Chapter 16: Regularity of Social Welfare Payments
Chapter 17: Management of Social Welfare Overpayments
Chapter 18: Department Reviews of welfare Schemes, Social Welfare Appeals Process, Social Insurance Fund (7 Dec 2017)

Seán Fleming: I think the witnesses must acknowledge this because there was no emphasis on chasing overpayments in the past because it was not worth the Department's while given it could only claim back €2 per week, the Department is now finding that the records are sometimes not great and there are old records in some of its branch offices around the country. That is a matter in respect of which...

Public Accounts Committee: Comptroller and Auditor General 2016 Report
Chapter 16: Regularity of Social Welfare Payments
Chapter 17: Management of Social Welfare Overpayments
Chapter 18: Department Reviews of welfare Schemes, Social Welfare Appeals Process, Social Insurance Fund (7 Dec 2017)

Seán Fleming: It is a historical issue. The records might not have been good so some of those debts might not be collectable.

Public Accounts Committee: Comptroller and Auditor General 2016 Report
Chapter 16: Regularity of Social Welfare Payments
Chapter 17: Management of Social Welfare Overpayments
Chapter 18: Department Reviews of welfare Schemes, Social Welfare Appeals Process, Social Insurance Fund (7 Dec 2017)

Seán Fleming: We have had a few major floods this year in Donegal and Mountmellick in County Laois. Could the Department send us a report on its assistance? I know the Department would have had a temporary office in Mountmellick for a few days. Now we are relying on the social welfare officer to keep the rest of it afloat so could the Department send us a note on that? My last question concerns the...

Public Accounts Committee: Comptroller and Auditor General 2016 Report
Chapter 16: Regularity of Social Welfare Payments
Chapter 17: Management of Social Welfare Overpayments
Chapter 18: Department Reviews of welfare Schemes, Social Welfare Appeals Process, Social Insurance Fund (7 Dec 2017)

Seán Fleming: We all know that there is a tremendous exchange of information between Revenue and the witnesses. People are receiving letters stating DIRT returns have been found by Revenue which is well able to chase people in Ireland, England and other jurisdictions on a payment they should not have been claiming when they had money on deposit. There is, therefore, a top-class exchange of information....

Public Accounts Committee: Comptroller and Auditor General 2016 Report
Chapter 16: Regularity of Social Welfare Payments
Chapter 17: Management of Social Welfare Overpayments
Chapter 18: Department Reviews of welfare Schemes, Social Welfare Appeals Process, Social Insurance Fund (7 Dec 2017)

Seán Fleming: It needs to be tidied up. On behalf of the other members of the committee, I thank the witnesses from the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform for participating in the meeting and the material supplied. We have no problem and will wait to receive the outstanding documents. There is general appreciation of the quality...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Mortgage to Rent Scheme Administration (7 Dec 2017)

Seán Fleming: 55. To ask the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to the fact that banks insert into all mortgage-to-rent agreements that the bank or financial institution can come back to the person who participates in the scheme for the balance of the mortgage; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52340/17]

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Estimates Publication (7 Dec 2017)

Seán Fleming: 66. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the Supplementary Estimates for public services for 2017 published to date; the EU and national rules regarding the provision of funding for Supplementary Estimates; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52339/17]