Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 376: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food the timeframe involved in informing the Department of Agriculture and Food of social welfare payments granted to spouses of ERS pension recipients; if her attention has been drawn to the fact that the delay in the time involved in processing this information and passing it onto her Department is causing grave hardship and reduction in ERS pensions of thousands of euro; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12829/06]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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Under the early retirement scheme, participants who entered the scheme in joint management with their spouses can be paid the early retirement pension only as a supplement to any national retirement pension they or their spouses receive. On entering the scheme, participants are made aware of this requirement and the onus is primarily on them to notify my Department when they, or their spouses, become entitled to national retirement pensions. My Department reminds participants annually of this obligation.

This control is supplemented by information provided by the Department of Social and Family Affairs. However, that Department will not necessarily be aware in every case that a person who becomes entitled to a national retirement pension, or his or her spouse, is also a participant in the early retirement scheme. Therefore, it cannot automatically notify my Department of pensions granted. Given data protection and privacy concerns, officials of my Department cannot be given direct access to databases held by the Department of Social and Family Affairs to check cases. However, I have had discussions with the Minister for Social and Family Affairs about improving the exchange of information between our two Departments. Arrangements are currently being made between the Departments in relation to early retirement scheme participants and their spouses only in order to give earlier notification of possible deductions to my Department and so reduce the risk of overpayments.

I am aware that there are cases where overpayments have happened. My Department is obliged, as a paying agency for European Union funds, to pursue all overpayments. However, my officials make every effort to negotiate manageable repayment terms with the people concerned.