Joanna Tuffy (Dublin Mid West, Labour)
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Question 127: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the procedures in place for dealing with persons who may have received an overpayment in their social welfare payments; the way in which they can resolve the matter; if measures can be put in place to repay the amount to the Department by instalments; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11781/12]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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My Department endeavours to seek the maximum level of repayments from clients, who have received payments in excess of what they were entitled to, in order to encourage prompt repayment of all debts. We are fully committed to recovering 100% of all overpayments, including those arising as a result of suspected fraud or error.

Effective debt recovery is seen an integral part of the deterrent to fraudulent claiming. Debt holders should be aware that a departmental debt will remain on their records until fully recovered and will result in a reduction of all future entitlements, up to and including state pension. Following the death of a customer who owes a debt, my Department has a claim on any estate remaining. Persons who have a debt and who are no longer dependent on social welfare are required to repay this debt as quickly as possible. My Department actively pursues the recovery of all overpayments, including the initiation of civil proceedings, where appropriate.

Where an overpayment has been assessed against a person, that person is afforded an opportunity to bring to the notice of the Department any views s/he wishes to offer on the assessment of the overpayment and their views on the proposed method of repayment.

In determining the actual amount to be repaid and the method of recovery the Department takes into account the personal circumstances of the person overpaid and the circumstances in which the overpayment occurred. Overpayments may be recovered by (i) withholding arrears due to the person, (ii) deduction from payments due to the person, (iii) payment of a lump sum by the person, (iv) regular payments by the person to the Department or (v) recovery from the person's estate.

When determining the rate of recovery, consideration is given to a number of issues, including the need to recover the overpayment as soon as possible but also ensuring that undue hardship is not caused to the person. The general approach is that the amount proposed is the maximum repayment that the person can afford in order to recover the overpayment as quickly as possible.

Most overpayments are recovered in instalments over a period of years, rather than in a single lump sum.

In the context of the Fraud Initiative 2011 – 2013 which I launched last September, the Department is reviewing its overall approach to debt recovery. A range of options are currently being examined with a view to both minimising overpayments and increasing the rate of recoveries. The consideration of all options has to be balanced of course, clearly taking into account the core income support and social inclusion purpose of social protection payments and any particular legal requirements.