Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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37. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will introduce a statute of limitations to govern the recovery of overpayments. [9314/15]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Effective debt recovery is a key aspect of the Department’s control policy and it is seen as an integral part of the deterrent approach to social welfare fraud. It creates a climate where people who have been overpaid know that they have a responsibility to repay their debt and that the Department will take appropriate steps to obtain recovery.

Once assessed with an overpayment, a person is liable to pay back the full amount owed as they have been in receipt of money to which they were not entitled. While it is the Department’s aim to prevent overpayments in the first place, if they occur, they are a debt to the Exchequer, and every effort must be made to recover the amounts due. In this regard, it should be noted that the Department does not apply interest or penalties on the amount owed.

Overall, it is important that the Department maintains the capacity to recover debts and is not limited by time in this regard. Therefore, I do not intend to introduce a statute of limitations to govern the recovery of social welfare debts.