John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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240. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if a family income supplement payment has been suspended from any person for engaging in industrial action since the introduction of the payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16945/17]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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There is no provision in social welfare legislation which allows for the suspension or termination of FIS in the event that the recipient is involved in industrial action. However, the existence of erroneous information on this topic on a subpage of the Department’s website, based on a misinterpretation of secondary legislation, recently came to light.

The Department took immediate steps to remove this erroneous information when it was discovered.

While there was no formal procedure in place for staff to proactively review FIS recipients who may have been involved in trade disputes, my Department recently reviewed available records dating back ten years and can confirm that, from 2007 to date, no FIS recipient has had their payment suspended due to their being involved in an industrial dispute.

The Department is of the view that it is unlikely that anyone has had their FIS payment suspended for this reason but will continue to review available pre-2007 records.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.