Results 2,501-2,520 of 5,388 for speaker:John Deasy

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Appropriation Accounts and Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General
Vote 6 - Office of the Minister for Finance
Chapter 1 - Financial Outturn for 2011
Chapter 2 - Government Debt
Chapter 3 - Banking and Insurance Measures
Chapter 5 - EU Financial Transactions (7 Mar 2013)

John Deasy: I am seeking some leeway. Perhaps the Department might give those with expertise in this area a chance to make an input before a decision is made. I am aware that once the consultant's report is finalised, the Department will have to go through the EU approval process and then take another look at it before the commencement order is signed. I am slightly concerned that if definitions are...

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Appropriation Accounts and Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General
Vote 6 - Office of the Minister for Finance
Chapter 1 - Financial Outturn for 2011
Chapter 2 - Government Debt
Chapter 3 - Banking and Insurance Measures
Chapter 5 - EU Financial Transactions (7 Mar 2013)

John Deasy: Therefore, there has not been a reduction.

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Appropriation Accounts and Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General
Vote 6 - Office of the Minister for Finance
Chapter 1 - Financial Outturn for 2011
Chapter 2 - Government Debt
Chapter 3 - Banking and Insurance Measures
Chapter 5 - EU Financial Transactions (7 Mar 2013)

John Deasy: Both the Department and Enterprise Ireland raised the matter of banks' interaction with small and medium enterprises, SMEs, in particular. The comment from one of the Enterprise Ireland officials a few weeks ago was that the banks were, frankly, not fit for purpose when it came to dealing with non-financial issues. It was made clear that in some cases there was a geographical challenge, and...

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Appropriation Accounts and Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General
Vote 6 - Office of the Minister for Finance
Chapter 1 - Financial Outturn for 2011
Chapter 2 - Government Debt
Chapter 3 - Banking and Insurance Measures
Chapter 5 - EU Financial Transactions (7 Mar 2013)

John Deasy: I will reiterate what Deputy Donohoe said before he left. We appreciate the work done by the Department of Finance, and it is a high-stakes game for Ireland right now. There has been much progress in the past year and I thank the witnesses for their work.

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 38 – Social Protection
Chapter 21 – Expenditure on Welfare and Employment Schemes
Chapter 22 – Welfare Overpayment Debts
Chapter 23 – Regularity of Social Welfare Payments
Social Insurance Fund – Annual Accounts 2011 (14 Mar 2013)

John Deasy: I welcome Ms O'Donoghue and the other officials. This is a complex area involving many payments. I deal with many social welfare queries in my office. I am not saying I know everything about it, but we are quite busy. We have a slight concern over deterrents and how people view the system before they engage in fraudulent activity in particular. I will give an example of an application I...

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 38 – Social Protection
Chapter 21 – Expenditure on Welfare and Employment Schemes
Chapter 22 – Welfare Overpayment Debts
Chapter 23 – Regularity of Social Welfare Payments
Social Insurance Fund – Annual Accounts 2011 (14 Mar 2013)

John Deasy: Because it is.

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 38 – Social Protection
Chapter 21 – Expenditure on Welfare and Employment Schemes
Chapter 22 – Welfare Overpayment Debts
Chapter 23 – Regularity of Social Welfare Payments
Social Insurance Fund – Annual Accounts 2011 (14 Mar 2013)

John Deasy: I believe 2% to 3% of fraudulent cases are referred to prosecution. I asked the liaison officer to check in a different jurisdiction and look at what its rate is. There is a massive difference. Scotland was the one we looked at. The referral for prosecutions in Scotland was about 34%. Of that, probably 30% to 40% were prosecuted in criminal courts. I look at Irish figures of 2% to 3%...

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 38 – Social Protection
Chapter 21 – Expenditure on Welfare and Employment Schemes
Chapter 22 – Welfare Overpayment Debts
Chapter 23 – Regularity of Social Welfare Payments
Social Insurance Fund – Annual Accounts 2011 (14 Mar 2013)

John Deasy: They have, but my point is that very few cases end up going to court. I go back to the psychology involved and the psyche of an individual going down the road at the very beginning and taking one of these application forms. The reality is that many of them know that the chances of them being fined and prosecuted in this country are very low, and that is borne out by the figures. I am...

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 38 – Social Protection
Chapter 21 – Expenditure on Welfare and Employment Schemes
Chapter 22 – Welfare Overpayment Debts
Chapter 23 – Regularity of Social Welfare Payments
Social Insurance Fund – Annual Accounts 2011 (14 Mar 2013)

John Deasy: Ms O'Donoghue mentioned that in her opening statement and spoke about using data and information in a smarter way.

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 38 – Social Protection
Chapter 21 – Expenditure on Welfare and Employment Schemes
Chapter 22 – Welfare Overpayment Debts
Chapter 23 – Regularity of Social Welfare Payments
Social Insurance Fund – Annual Accounts 2011 (14 Mar 2013)

John Deasy: The Department has obviously thought about this because in her opening statement, Ms O'Donoghue mentioned that the maximum payment that can be deducted per week was €2 to €3. That was increased to 15% which translates to a deduction of €28 from a payment of €188, so the Department has thought about this. My guess is that nobody among the public knows this. It...

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 38 – Social Protection
Chapter 21 – Expenditure on Welfare and Employment Schemes
Chapter 22 – Welfare Overpayment Debts
Chapter 23 – Regularity of Social Welfare Payments
Social Insurance Fund – Annual Accounts 2011 (14 Mar 2013)

John Deasy: The Department does. I understand that we are talking about people with very little money. I deal with enough people who are in very tight situations. I will go back to the example of England. For those convicted in court, the Department for Work and Pensions has proposed introducing a two strike regime for imposing benefit deductions. It proposes to impose a loss of benefits for three...

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 38 – Social Protection
Chapter 21 – Expenditure on Welfare and Employment Schemes
Chapter 22 – Welfare Overpayment Debts
Chapter 23 – Regularity of Social Welfare Payments
Social Insurance Fund – Annual Accounts 2011 (14 Mar 2013)

John Deasy: In reality, those are not really reviewed.

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 38 – Social Protection
Chapter 21 – Expenditure on Welfare and Employment Schemes
Chapter 22 – Welfare Overpayment Debts
Chapter 23 – Regularity of Social Welfare Payments
Social Insurance Fund – Annual Accounts 2011 (14 Mar 2013)

John Deasy: The Comptroller and Auditor General found that there is no provision for the approval or review of a decision to cancel or write off overpayment debts.

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 38 – Social Protection
Chapter 21 – Expenditure on Welfare and Employment Schemes
Chapter 22 – Welfare Overpayment Debts
Chapter 23 – Regularity of Social Welfare Payments
Social Insurance Fund – Annual Accounts 2011 (14 Mar 2013)

John Deasy: That was my next question.

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 38 – Social Protection
Chapter 21 – Expenditure on Welfare and Employment Schemes
Chapter 22 – Welfare Overpayment Debts
Chapter 23 – Regularity of Social Welfare Payments
Social Insurance Fund – Annual Accounts 2011 (14 Mar 2013)

John Deasy: Ms O'Donoghue is going back to the deterrent. If people understood that an attachment order was coming if they were convicted or found to have perpetrated welfare fraud, it would act as a deterrent. Is Ms O'Donoghue saying that is moving on now?

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 38 – Social Protection
Chapter 21 – Expenditure on Welfare and Employment Schemes
Chapter 22 – Welfare Overpayment Debts
Chapter 23 – Regularity of Social Welfare Payments
Social Insurance Fund – Annual Accounts 2011 (14 Mar 2013)

John Deasy: There was no recovery plan in place in the two local offices I mentioned where it was in the high 50th percentiles range. Obviously, that sets off alarm bells in Ms O'Donoghue's head with regard to every social welfare office in the State. What did she do when she heard about that?

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 38 – Social Protection
Chapter 21 – Expenditure on Welfare and Employment Schemes
Chapter 22 – Welfare Overpayment Debts
Chapter 23 – Regularity of Social Welfare Payments
Social Insurance Fund – Annual Accounts 2011 (14 Mar 2013)

John Deasy: Enormous pressure, yes.

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 38 – Social Protection
Chapter 21 – Expenditure on Welfare and Employment Schemes
Chapter 22 – Welfare Overpayment Debts
Chapter 23 – Regularity of Social Welfare Payments
Social Insurance Fund – Annual Accounts 2011 (14 Mar 2013)

John Deasy: Ms O'Donoghue is right about the pressure staff are under. We know it. A significant issue we come across is delay which I have raised with Ms O'Donoghue before. I acknowledge that the Department is trying to deal with it but an application for disability or invalidity benefit might take a year to deal with. Fraud, however, adds greatly to the stress of staff. I revert to the issue of...

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 38 – Social Protection
Chapter 21 – Expenditure on Welfare and Employment Schemes
Chapter 22 – Welfare Overpayment Debts
Chapter 23 – Regularity of Social Welfare Payments
Social Insurance Fund – Annual Accounts 2011 (14 Mar 2013)

John Deasy: Of the €343 million which is outstanding, how much can be recovered? Ms O'Donoghue has referred to the improved systems being put in place in terms of reviews. Of the total amount, 47% has been outstanding for at least five years.

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 38 – Social Protection
Chapter 21 – Expenditure on Welfare and Employment Schemes
Chapter 22 – Welfare Overpayment Debts
Chapter 23 – Regularity of Social Welfare Payments
Social Insurance Fund – Annual Accounts 2011 (14 Mar 2013)

John Deasy: An interesting statistic I came across is that of 66,000 people called for an interview between January and July 2012, 13,200 left the live register before the interview. It is a large number. That 13,000 approximately of 66,000 called did not show up for interview tells its own story. The Department does not track these people in any respect I am told.