Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein)
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377. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if a person in receipt of a social welfare payment has the right to privacy regarding personal spending when providing bank statements to her Department. [41175/20]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Qualification for a number of assistance payments from my Department require a means test to be undertaken to assess the customers’ eligibility. One of the factors taken into account in the calculation of means is any investments and savings that the customer may have. To carry out a means test in respect of savings, original bank statements should be provided. If it is not possible to provide an original bank statement an officer may decide to accept a copy of the statement. 

A bank statement with information redacted may not provide a complete record of the financial information that is required to carry out a means test and as such may be considered as an incomplete document.   In order for a decision to be made or a review to be carried out on a claim a customer must make the relevant supporting documents available to my Department. 

The appointment and duties of Social Welfare Inspectors are provided for in Section 250 of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act 2005 as amended. These outline the requirement for a customer to give an inspector information and any documents that they may require for the purposes of an investigation. 

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.