Michael McCarthy (Cork South West, Labour)
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Question 143: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the total number of family units here who are currently under investigation by her for being suspected of claiming benefits in excess of what they are entitled to; the location of each family, the number of persons in each, the benefits being administered in respect of each person within the family unit, and the total amount paid to the family in 2010 in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27902/11]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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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 the Department. The Department processes in excess of 2 million claims each year and it makes payments to over one million people every week. The vast majority of people are receiving the entitlement due to them. My Department does not record the total number of family units who are under investigation for suspected fraud. It records its data per social welfare scheme and on an individual basis. In 2010, my Department reviewed over 929,000 cases which resulted in control savings of €483 million.

Michael McCarthy (Cork South West, Labour)
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Question 144: To ask the Minister for Social Protection if there are plans to introduce monitoring of bank accounts in respect of suspected welfare frauds; if this is the case, the way she purports to introduce such a measure; if she will provide a provisional timeline of when it will take effect; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27907/11]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Section 17 of the Social Welfare and Pensions (No.2) Act, 2009, amended the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 2005, to include provision for the appointment of authorised officers who, in certain circumstances, will have the power to obtain information from financial institutions without the consent of the customer. It is intended that these powers will be confined to a limited number of officers and will be used only in exceptional circumstances. The authorised officer must have reasonable grounds to believe that there has been a contravention of the Act by a claimant or beneficiary. The Department has reached agreement with the Irish Banking Federation in relation to the procedures for implementation of this legislation. The new provisions will be operational within a matter of weeks.