Written answers

Tuesday, 10 May 2011

Department of Social Protection

Social Welfare Fraud

9:00 pm

Photo of Barry CowenBarry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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Question 47: To ask the Minister for Social Protection her target for fraud savings 2011; the measures needed to achieve same; and the cost of these measures. [10431/11]

Photo of Joan BurtonJoan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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For 2011 the Department has a target of reviewing 780,000 individual welfare claims and to achieve €540 million in control savings. This figure is the value of the control activity in the Department and if this work did not take place there would, over time, be a similar increase in total social welfare expenditure. The prevention of fraud and abuse of the social welfare system is an integral part of the day-to-day work of the Department. A key objective of the Department's control strategy is to ensure that the right person is paid the right amount of money at the right time. A four-pronged control strategy has been adopted by the Department, namely prevention of fraud and error at the initial claim stage, early detection through effective review of claims in payment, measures to deter fraud, and the pursuit and recovery of overpayments.

Measures to control fraud and abuse include desk reviews of claim papers, home visits, the issue of review forms to selected customers, database checking, medical reviews in the case of illness payments etc. The Department is also engaged in data matching with other Government Departments and public bodies for control purposes.

The Department supplements reviews of entitlement by the frequent use of direct mail shot letters, particularly in relation to eligibility for child benefit.

In the case of persons receiving illness and disability payments, recipients are reviewed on a systematic basis through medical assessments and examinations, the frequency of which relates to the nature of the illness of disability.

Residency checks on social welfare claims by non-Irish nationals are undertaken nationwide in order to determine whether their residency status in the State is fulfilled.

New claimants for jobseeker payments are now exclusively paid through post offices. The Department's Special Investigation Unit (SIU) carries out a wide range of control activities and projects to investigate social welfare fraud and abuse, some of which are jointly with the Revenue Commissioners and with NERA. This unit participates in multi-agency vehicle checkpoints with other agencies, including the Gardaí, Traffic Corps, Taxi Regulator and the Revenue Commissioners. Some areas in which this unit will be working this year include the hidden economy, cases of concurrent working and claiming, multiple claiming and personation cases.

Reports of suspected fraudulent social welfare claims can be made by calling Central Control Section. Alternatively, there is an on-line facility for members of the public to report their suspicions of social welfare fraud on www.welfare.ie. All reported cases of suspected social welfare are thoroughly investigated.

It is the Department's policy to consider for prosecution all cases of fraud against the social welfare system. In 2010, 209 cases were referred for criminal proceedings under social welfare legislation. In addition to the 209 cases, a further 132 cases of serious fraud involving multiple claiming of social welfare payments were referred to the Gardaí for consideration of criminal proceedings under the Criminal Justice (Fraud and Theft) Act 2001. The Department actively pursues the recovery of debts from all persons who have received social welfare payments to which they were not entitled. Officials from this Department are involved with the Cross-Border Operational Forum. This body comprises selected investigators from the social welfare agencies in Ireland, Northern Ireland and the UK, who liaise at an operational level. Case by case data matching takes place between the Department of Social Protection and the Northern Ireland Social Security Agency and the Department of Work and Pensions in the UK, on cases where social welfare fraud or abuse is occurring.

The new Public Service Card will include a photograph and signature. One of the advantages of the card is that it will help to reduce fraud and error which results from the incorrect identification of benefit claimants. Roll out of the card is planned to commence later this year.

Fraud and Error Surveys, undertaken by the Department, provide an indicator of the estimated risk of fraud on the schemes surveyed at that point in time. This enables the Department to enhance its procedures and processes in relation to risk and control across the relevant schemes.

The costs of these control measures would include the costs of the staff directly involved. There are some 620 staff whose work includes control activities, who work at local, regional and headquarters level. Some 200 staff work full time on control work, while the other staff are responsible for routine investigations of new claims and reviews under the various schemes. The Special Investigation Unit comprise 89 inspectors whose exclusive function is that of fraud investigation.

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