Written answers

Tuesday, 15 October 2013

Department of Social Protection

Social Welfare Fraud Data

Photo of Pat DeeringPat Deering (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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134. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of personnel employed in fraud investigation in her Department; the number at the same time in 2010; and the amount of money that has been generated from January to September 2013 as a result of these investigations and for the same period in 2010 on a county basis. [43153/13]

Photo of Joan BurtonJoan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The exclusive function of the Department's Special Investigation Unit (SIU) is to investigate and report on fraud and abuse of social welfare schemes.The SIU was reconfigured as a national unit in February 2010 and the current structure ensures a national and strategic response to high risk sectors and social welfare schemes where fraud and abuse is prevalent. The Unit ensures that an integrated approach to prevention and detection of social welfare abuse is taken, in conjunction with other areas of the Department involved in control work. The SIU carries out a wide range of control activities and projects. It also works jointly with Revenue staff in the Joint Investigation Unit and other inter-agency work is undertaken with NERA, Customs and the Gardaí. The staffing levels in the Unit have remained unchanged since 2010, with 91 people currently assigned to posts in the SIU. The Department is, however, currently looking at ways to increase the resources in the Unit.

Furthermore, it should be noted that the control process is an integral part of the day-to-day operations of the Department and all staff involved in the administration of the various social welfare schemes are acutely aware of the need to implement appropriate controls at every stage of the process.

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 and are an estimate of the value of the various control activities across the schemes in payment. They refer to future expenditure that would have been incurred but for this activity. Without this control work, social welfare expenditure would over time increase by this amount. Control savings do not include any cases of departmental or clerical error or any cases where the customer voluntarily told the Department of their means or circumstances, which resulted in a change to their rate of payment.

Control savings recorded by SIU from January to September 2013 are €53.3m while, during the same period in 2010, control savings amounted to €34.8m. These savings are not recorded on a county basis.

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