Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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555. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will consider exempting those persons contacted for recovery of payment for periods over 20 years and under the amount of €1500; if she will consider exempting a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36973/13]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Overpayments arise in cases where individuals receive social welfare benefit and/or assistance payments to which they are not entitled.

People who have received an overpayment from the Department have a liability under law to refund the overpayment (Section 338 of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 2005 (as amended) refers). They have received money to which they were not entitled and the Department has a responsibility to ensure that all overpayments are recovered in full.

A debt will remain on a debt holder's record until it is fully recovered. Currently, my Department does not apply interest or penalties on the amounts owing. Recovery can be pursued up to future pension entitlements and following death, where an estate remains. In this regard, there is an obligation on the personal representative of a deceased person, who was at any time in receipt of a social assistance payment, to ensure that sufficient assets are retained to repay any assistance overpaid.

In the case mentioned, consideration was given to the person's particular circumstances and weekly deductions from social welfare payments were suspended with effect from 03/09/13. However, there are no plans to exempt the recovery of older, lower value overpayments, as suggested by the Deputy.