Dinny McGinley (Donegal South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 96: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the number of welfare reviews of individuals carried out in the past five years; if these reviews are carried out on a regular and targeted basis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12119/08]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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The prevention of fraud and abuse of the social welfare system is an integral part of the day-to-day work of my Department. A key objective of my Department's control strategy is to ensure that we pay the right person the right amount of money at the right time.

Systematic risk analysis is a key element of the control strategy. This entails the identification, of areas of high risk of fraud and abuse in the schemes and putting in place appropriate measures to address them in a systematic way. The purpose of this approach is to ensure that review policies and activities are targeted on areas that pose a higher risk of fraud and abuse.

Reviews carried out in the past five years are detailed in the following table:

Controls are exercised at both the initial claim stage and at subsequent stages during the claim life-cycle. Over 600 staff at local, regional and national level are engaged on a full or part-time basis on work related to the control of fraud and abuse of the social welfare system.

I am committed to ensuring that social welfare payments are available to those who are entitled to them. In this regard the control programme of my Department is carefully monitored and the various measures are continuously refined to ensure that they remain effective.