Derek Keating (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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223. To ask the Minister for Social Protection If she will outline the savings made in 2011, 2012 and to date in 2013 as a result of the actions she and her Department have to deal with the fraud payment of social welfare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28886/13]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Programme for Government commits to a zero tolerance approach towards social welfare fraud. The Department of Social Protection’s Fraud Initiative which I launched in September 2011 further articulates this overarching policy objective. A key priority is to ensure that fraudulent activity within the social welfare system is vigorously prevented and combatted. The approach is one which is aimed at highlighting the rights but importantly also the responsibilities of social welfare recipients.

The Initiative recognises the value of the Department working closely and collaboratively with other agencies to ensure that social welfare abuse is comprehensively deterred and detected. The approach taken by the Department is frequently reviewed and is regularly adjusted to concentrate on the areas of greatest risk, based on its operational experience and credible information received from industry and business sectors.

It is evident that the vast majority of social welfare recipients are legitimately entitled to the payments they receive. The Department has made some significant inroads in tackling social welfare fraud.

The Department’s control work is measured in terms of control savings. Control savings are used as a performance indicator for year-on-year activities. Control savings are an estimate of the value of the various control activities across the schemes in payment. Control savings refer to future expenditure that would have been incurred but for this control work. Without this control work the social welfare expenditure would over time increase by this amount. Control savings do not include any cases of departmental or clerical error. Control savings do not include any cases where the customer voluntarily told the Department of their means or circumstances, which resulted in a change to their rate of payment.

The Department recorded control savings of €645m in 2011 and €669m in 2012. The savings target for 2013 is €710 million which is an increase of €40m on the savings achieved in 2012. A total of just over €180m was recorded in respect of control savings from January to end of April 2013.