John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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602. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of State pension (non contributory) payments that have been cut as a result of the fraud and error surveys carried out involving 1000 pensioners; the amounts cut from the affected pensions; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11662/18]

Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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My Department has a duty to ensure that it pays the right person the right amount of money at the right time. It is important that all schemes operated by my Department, including State Pension (non-contributory), are subject to ongoing control reviews and continuing eligibility checks. This includes conducting fraud and error surveys which serve to reaffirm the entitlement of randomly selected recipients to their ongoing social welfare payments.

Fraud and error surveys are an integral part of my Department’s overall approach to control. The results provide an indicator of the risk of non-compliance with scheme rules at a point in time. They also provide evidence on where control activities should be focused and inform risk assessment models for schemes.

As part of an ongoing programme of fraud and error surveys, my Department is currently conducting a survey of the State Pension (non-contributory) scheme. Work on the survey is ongoing and results are not expected to be available for publication until April/May 2018 at the earliest. The results of all such surveys are published by my Department and available on the website www.welfare.ie.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.