Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Question 302: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the catchment area served by the social welfare office in Ballyconnell, County Cavan; the number of people registered as signing-on and dependent on the claimant; the total population of the entire catchment as per the 2006 census; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46996/09]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The Department provides it services through its Local Office and Branch Office network. The Department's Branch Office in Ballyconnell deals with Jobseeker applications and payments for a sizeable geographic area covering most of North Cavan and parts of County Leitrim, including the towns of Belturbet, Carrigallen, Corlough, Killeshandra, Redhills and Swanlinbar. All persons living in these areas or catchment areas, if they require a jobseekers payment, will be dealt with by the Ballyconnell Branch Office.

As of 5th December 2009 there are 1,437 persons claiming Jobseeker Allowance and Benefit payments. The population covered by the area served by this branch office based on 2006 Central Statistics figures is 13,981. Recent media reports stated that the number of persons signing in this office is in excess of the population of Ballyconnell and implied that this was due to fraud. Because the office serves a much wider area than Ballyconnell itself, it is not accurate to isolate the population of Ballyconnell from the wider area it serves. Neither is it appropriate to extrapolate that the increase in, or composition of, the Live Register is exclusively down to cross border claiming.

It is true that the Department has identified a risk that people who live in Northern Ireland may attempt to fraudulently claim welfare payments in the Republic. A number of measures have been put in place to address this risk. Since the department started these cross-border operations, the percentage year-on-year increase in virtually all of the border offices had reduced. The most recent statistics for Ballyconnell Branch Office show that between December 2008 and December 2009 the number of people on the Live Register in this area increased by 39%, from 862 to 1,202 persons. This was lower than the percentage increase in the Live Register nationally in the same period.