Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Social Protection the steps she will take to ensure against the occurrence of overpayments which result in recovery and consequent hardship with particular reference to cases where the overpayment was not as a result of oversight or negligence on the paret of the applicant; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44873/12]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Department is fully committed to recovering 100% of overpayments. Those customers who are aware that they are being - or have been - overpaid by the Department should contact their local social welfare office immediately. An overpayment recovery plan, acceptable both to the customer and to the Department, will then be agreed. The general approach is that the recovery amount proposed would be the maximum repayment that the debtor can afford in order to recover the overpayment as quickly as possible.

Overpayments may be recovered through regular periodic payments, deduction from the customers on-going benefit payments or by way of a single payment covering the full amount owed. Debt holders should be aware that a Departmental debt will remain on their records until fully recovered. This will result in a reduction of all future entitlements up to and including State pension and a potential claim on any estate following the death of a customer who owes a debt.

A key priority for my Department is to ensure that fraudulent activity within the social welfare system is vigorously prevented and combated. Social welfare fraud undermines public confidence in the entire system as well as being unfair to other recipients of social welfare payments and taxpayers. Effective debt recovery is an integral part of the deterrent to fraudulent claiming.

The 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.