Written answers
Wednesday, 18 October 2017
Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection
Social Insurance Fund
Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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201. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the basis and the way in which debts of approximately €89 million are owed in customer debt to the Social Insurance Fund; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44149/17]
Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The Social Insurance Fund (SIF) was established by the Social Welfare Act 1952 (as amended). The SIF operates under the terms of the Social Welfare (Consolidation Act) 2005. Under section 9 of that Act the SIF comprises a current account managed by the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection and an investment account managed by the Minister for Finance. The income of the SIF derives mainly from the pay-related social insurance collected by the Revenue in respect of employers and employees and self-employer persons. The accounts of the SIF are audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General.
Social insurance benefits, redundancy payment entitlement and occupational injury benefits are paid out of the SIF at rates established by the Social Welfare Acts. In the course of the administration of the schemes, overpayments arise which are assessed and become a debt to the Department. Debts arise when benefits are paid in excess of entitlement due to fraud, customer or official error. The Department does not apply interest or penalties on the amounts owing.
The historic outstanding customer debt balance, due in respect of the SIF, at the end of 2016 was €89 million in respect of 48,422 individual debts. This data is set out at scheme level in the following table.
TABLE: Details of Debt due to the Social Insurance Fund at end 2016 by Scheme
| Scheme | Cases | Outstanding Debt at 31/12/16 € | Average Debt per case € | Share of debt per scheme |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jobseekers Benefit | 30,731 | 23,155,922 | 754 | 26.0% |
| Illness Benefit | 8,366 | 17,398,014 | 2,080 | 19.5% |
| State Pension Contributory | 3,418 | 16,509,186 | 4,830 | 18.5% |
| Widow(er)s Pension Contributory | 2,240 | 8,799,856 | 3,929 | 9.9% |
| Invalidity Pension Contributory | 1,401 | 10,464,351 | 7,469 | 11.7% |
| Maternity Benefit | 970 | 2,150,572 | 2,217 | 2.4% |
| Deserted Wife's Benefit | 357 | 6,498,854 | 18,204 | 7.3% |
| State Pension Transition Contributory | 351 | 1,425,999 | 4,063 | 1.6% |
| Occupational Injuries Benefit | 183 | 126,060 | 689 | 0.1% |
| Carer's Benefit | 115 | 349,504 | 3,039 | 0.4% |
| Disablement Benefit | 105 | 914,842 | 8,713 | 1.0% |
| Guardians Payment Contributory | 99 | 890,922 | 8,999 | 1.0% |
| Redundancy Schemes | 29 | 100,431 | 3,463 | 0.1% |
| Partial Capacity Benefit | 21 | 30,733 | 1,463 | 0.0% |
| Health & Safety Benefit | 7 | 3,823 | 546 | 0.0% |
| Adoptive Parent Benefit | 5 | 31,585 | 6,317 | 0.0% |
| Treatment Benefit - Dental Benefit | 6 | 10,371 | 1,728 | 0.0% |
| Widowed Parent Grant Con | 4 | 9,887 | 2,472 | 0.0% |
| Household Benefits (Fund) | 4 | 2,624 | 656 | 0.0% |
| Insolvency Scheme | 3 | 66,617 | 22,206 | 0.1% |
| PRSI Refunds | 3 | 8,932 | 2,977 | 0.0% |
| Death Benefit | 2 | 119,220 | 59,610 | 0.1% |
| Paternity Benefit | 1 | 402 | 402 | 0.0% |
| Medical Care | 1 | 395 | 395 | 0.0% |
| Grand Total | 48,422 | 89,069,102 | 1,839 | 100.0% |
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
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