Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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240. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if the case of a person (details supplied) who received an overpayment in respect of which they have been asked to make restitution will be examined; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26161/18]

Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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According to departmental records the person concerned incurred an overpayment of €43,529 as their entitlement to a one parent family payment was disallowed from 17/3/2011 to 30/10/2014. The person concerned also had means of €47.50 per week assessed from 01/07/15 to 31/12/2015. The decision to raise this overpayment was appealed to the Social Welfare Appeals Office and this decision was upheld at an oral hearing in June 2016.

A deduction of €28.20 per week against the one parent family payment of the person concerned is currently in place to recoup this overpayment. On 3/1/18, the person concerned contacted the Social Welfare Appeals Office to appeal the decision regarding the repayment of debt. The appeals officer concluded ‘that the initial decision should stand and as a consequence, the overpayment, as assessed, also stands.’

Under Section 338 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act, 2005, persons are required torepay any overpayment incurred as they benefited from the funds to which they were not entitled.

The Department seeks to be fair and reasonable to customers concerning debt recovery. Section 13 of the Social Welfare Act, 2012 which amends the Social Welfare Consolidation Act, 2005 allows for a deduction of an amount of up to 15% of the weekly personal rate payable to a customer, without the customer’s consent, for the purposes of the recovery of an overpayment.

A Department of Social Protection debt will remain on the customers’ records until it is fully recovered and this will result in a reduction of all future entitlements up to and including State Pension.

The person concerned is also in receipt of Child Benefit Payments.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.