Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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122. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the number of years she considers a reasonable amount of time to pursue the repayment of an overpayment of a jobseeker's allowance claim; the Statute of Limitations that applies in such instances; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41493/15]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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An overpayment arises where a claimant is found to have been in receipt of a social welfare payment to which s/he was not entitled. Deciding officers are required to have regard to all the facts relevant to any revised decision on entitlement.

Once a revised decision on entitlement has been made, the person is informed of the decision and has the right to have the decision reviewed by the Department or to appeal the decision to the Social Welfare Appeals Office. If the revised decision has retrospective effect and results in an overpayment, the person is also notified of this and is informed of the requirement that the overpayment must be repaid in full to the Department. Once the right of appeal has been exercised (or not), the Department will then consider the recovery of the overpayment.

A social welfare debt will not become statute barred for recovery. It remains with a debtor for all future entitlement payments and can be collected thereafter from any remaining estate. There is no statute of limitations preventing the Department recovering its debts by deduction from entitlements. The Department does not apply interest or penalties on the amount outstanding. Effective debt recovery is seen as an important measure to safeguard public expenditure and where someone has been overpaid, it is essential that this money is recouped.