David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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Question 176: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the process and procedures taken by his Department in the event of reclaiming welfare overpayments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6229/05]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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The repayment of social welfare overpayments is regulated by a code of practice, SI No. 227 of 1996. The regulations specify that in applying the code due regard is to be taken of the interests of taxpayers and social welfare contributors who finance the various social welfare payments as well as the ability of the debtor concerned to repay.

These regulations specify that every effort must be made to recover all overpayments, but specifies that repayment may be deferred, suspended, reduced or cancelled in accordance with the terms of the code of practice. The application of the terms of the code of practice is a function of deciding officers. Overpayments may be recovered in the following ways: a single payment to repay the overpayment; regular periodic payments; by deduction(s) from the customer's social welfare payment and by taking civil proceedings. When determining the method and rate of repayment, the code requires that consideration should be given to any facts or circumstances relevant to the rate of recovery, as well as the amount of the overpayment and the circumstances in which it arose.

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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Question 177: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the procedures and process for the recovery of child maintenance payments within his Department; the way in which the payments are calculated; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6230/05]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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Applicants for one-parent family payment are required to make ongoing efforts to seek adequate maintenance from the other parent of their child. Normally, such maintenance is obtained by way of negotiation or by court order. Increasingly, separated couples are using my Department's family mediation service, which is being progressively extended country-wide, to reach agreement.

Where social welfare support is being provided to a one-parent family, the other parent is legally liable to contribute to the cost of this payment. In every case where a one-parent family payment is awarded, the maintenance recovery unit of my Department seeks to trace the liable relative involved in order to ascertain whether she or he is in a financial position to contribute towards the cost of one-parent family payment. This follow-up activity takes place within 2-3 weeks of award of payment.

All liable relatives assessed with maintenance liability are notified by the Department and issued with a determination order setting out the amount of contribution assessed. The amount assessed can be reviewed where there is new information about, or changes in, the financial or household circumstances of a liable relative. The Department requires regular, normally weekly, payment of the contributions assessed in this way. There are currently 1,868 liable relatives contributing directly to my Department. Since 2001, one-parent family payment claimants are allowed to retain 50% of any maintenance received without reduction in their social welfare entitlements, as a further incentive to seek support themselves.

The maintenance recovery unit of my Department, through its follow up activity with the liable relative, achieved savings of €8.5 million in 2002 and €14.2 million in 2003. Savings of €16.6 million were achieved in 2004. These savings are composed both of direct cash payments by the liable relative to the Department, and of savings on scheme expenditure. Savings on scheme expenditure arise where maintenance recovery activity leads to the liable relative paying maintenance in respect of a spouse and-or children and the consequent reduction or termination of a one-parent family payment. In 2004, a total of 722 one-parent family payments were cancelled while a further 512 payments were reduced as a result of maintenance recovery activity.

In implementing maintenance recovery provisions to date the Department has concentrated on those cases where the liable relatives concerned, being in employment or self-employment, would be in a better financial position to make a contribution towards the support of their families. Legislation allows the Department to seek recovery from liable relatives through the courts in appropriate cases. A total of 182 cases have been submitted for court action from 2001 to date. The majority of these cases have resulted in orders being written against the liable relative in court or, alternatively, in the liable relative agreeing to pay a contribution to either the Department or the lone parent. Further cases are in the course of preparation by the Department for court action.