Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Fine Gael)
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Question 30: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding dedicated reporting phone lines (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39249/11]

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 my Department which processes in excess of 2 million claims each year and makes payments to some 1.4 million people every week. However, it is important to recognise that the vast majority of people are receiving the entitlement due to them.

The Deputy may be aware that I recently launched a new Fraud Initiative (2011 – 2013) which is aimed at putting in place a range of actions to combat fraud and abuse of the social welfare system and to ensure there is public confidence and trust in the system.

My Department accepts reports of possible fraud from members of the public in relation to the various schemes it administers. To this end, it operates both a dedicated phone number and there is also a facility on the Department's website to make such reports. Members of the public are asked to provide as much detail about the case they are reporting as possible and they can do so anonymously.

Reports can be made as follows:

· By email: www.welfare.ie

· By phone: (01) 704 3000, ask for Central Control Section or (071) 9672648 or Locall: 1890 927999.

· By Post: Central Control Division, DSP, Shannon Lodge, Carrick-on-Shannon, Co Leitrim.

All anonymous or confidential reports are examined and, where relevant, are referred to scheme owners and/or to the Department's inspectors for appropriate follow-up action. While a payment is not suspended or stopped solely on the basis of an anonymous report, the report may be a trigger for the instigation of a review of a customer's entitlement. A Social Welfare Inspector may then deem it appropriate to carry out a full review of the circumstances and means of the customer in order to determine on-going entitlement to the relevant payment.

The following are details of the number of reports received in the period January to November 2011:

In approximately 12,300 of the above cases, a report of suspected fraud was sent to the relevant area for examination. In approximately 3,800 of the cases received in 2011, it was not possible to issue a report to an investigator due to (i) a lack of information supplied, (ii) no claim being in payment or (iii) the information reported would not impact on entitlement. The majority of the reports received relate to Jobseekers payments, One Parent Family payments, Illness payments and Supplementary Welfare Allowance.

It should be noted that the number of anonymous reports received from members of the public has increased significantly in recent years:

My Department is very conscious of its obligation to protect public money and is determined to ensure that abuse of the system is prevented and is dealt with effectively when detected.