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THE DEPARTMENT OF Social Protection (DSP) received 20,155 reports of welfare fraud from members of the public up to the end of November.
The majority of reports related to people who were perceived to be working and claiming benefits, or not meeting the criteria for the one-parent family payment.
There was an increase in many types of reports, including a 38% jump in the number of reports relating to people allegedly working while claiming social welfare.
A high proportion of reports also related to abuses of the supplementary welfare allowance schemes.
Minister for Social Protection Leo Varadkar announced the figures today.
The DSP said around 72% of reports contained sufficient information to warrant further examination and investigation. Some reports result in more than one investigation having to be undertaken.
The remaining reports lacked adequate information or a claim was not in payment or the information reported did not impact on the customer’s entitlement to their payment.
€468m saved
Overall, up to November, the DSP saved €468 million by combating welfare fraud through 889,285 ‘control related reviews’.
Investigations were conducted by social welfare staff, through direct enquiries and face-to-face interviews with customers.
Short-term schemes generated the highest value savings with around one third of the total savings, some €135 million, generated from jobseekers payments.
In most cases, savings arise when a person returns to work and does not inform the department in a timely manner.
Payments under the one-parent family and child benefit payments each accounted for around one sixth of indicative savings, with pensions accounting for around one eighth.
More detailed investigations were conducted by the DSP’s Special Investigations Unit, which reports on the most serious fraud cases. The Unit has 110 officers, including 19 officers seconded from An Garda Síochána, and also works closely with Revenue.
Up to the end of November, the unit had generated savings of €67 million. A total of 4,053 case detections resulted in social welfare payments being stopped or reduced. Some 1,734 cases were assessed as having a fraud overpayment, with a total value of €26.6 million.
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Have experienced picking up short term work..doing everything right..attend office..inform them ,sign off..then receive a snotty letter that they have been informed by revenue that I am in employment..don’t think I’m the only one..seems like this weeks deflection story..wonder what’s been hidden..
I was in a similar situation. I got a few days work, I informed social welfare and they said to work the 4 days (as I was only going to work for those days with the company) and inform them when finished the hours I worked and the payment slip I received and they will check if I was over paid while working and they would claim back what was over paid. Revenue got my ppsn from the employer and as I was on the system for social welfare, I got a notice from social welfare similar to what you got. The two systems communication and once someone who is “marked” as getting a social welfare payment and is employed by someone, something is flagged and a notification from revenue is sent to the social welfare to check up and make sure everything is above board. I don’t see what is wrong with this. There would be some lag between you signing off and the system being updated etc.
Haha. “20,000 reportings from supposedly 20,000 deeply loyal, government supporting citizens!”
Or maybe from people sick and tired of struggling all the time while others are getting the best of both ..
I’m not saying it’s right, but why is the same effort not put into catching the people that destroyed, and continue to destroy this country. Some of the people, not all obviously, may be working and claiming to make ends meet. These people in the high end jobs are doing it out of pure greed. Priorities need serious looking at.
Well there was a referendum about setting up Dail public enquiry where all the bankers and politicians would in public have to answer all the hard questions about banking collapse The people rejected it
@John because the vagueness of that legislation was open to abuse
Deliberately worded to invite rejection.
Has Apple Computers been reported.
Receiving corporate welfare and dodging tax to the tune of billions.
It’s easy and cowardly to go after people who can’t defend themselves.
So they should be allowed to continue stealing ?
For some people, it’s survival. Now, our politicians claiming for more expenses than they need, now that’s stealing, especially when they’re doing such a poor job.
You can’t possibly justify people claiming more than they are entitled to. Remember they are not stealing from the Government they are stealing from hard working tax payers. If we extrapolate this “survival” argument then why not just let people walk into shops and help themselves.. Remember Ireland has one of the most generous social welfare systems in the world.
Equally, you can’t justify politicians claiming expenses for more than they need, yet it’s widely regarded that they do. And our politicians do it for pure greed as opposed to survival. Also we have among the most generously paid politicians in the world despite them making such a ham fisted shambolic job of running the country.
I’d say they’re learning from the top. Our politicians are well known for claiming for everything under the sun.
Micheal Martin and others claiming 40k plus of an expense around 2011. When it was highlighted, they said publicly, they’d stop. They just went off, changed the name of the expense and continued to claim away.
Exactly when County Councillors (Senators) can pretty much get away with claiming money they’re not entitled to and cost the State over 350,000 as a result, why wouldn’t the ordinary Joe soap try to scrape as much together as possible as well. Lead by example, or this culture will never change.
I was in the local shop the other day and the bread delivery fella was on his mobile. “Yeah I just have to finish this job and collect my dole then I’ll be down.” Not a care in the world. System is broken.
@Sean Beag: Maybe he started the job that week and had to collect he’s last payment?????
@johnr: Unless he regularly quits and starts the same job I think it’s safe to say he’s been doing it a while.
He may also be casually employed and claiming for the days he’s not working, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that, it’s all above board.
Sean : what system are you speaking of ? There is no real system. And if there was one it’s been broken for decades. So what do you conclude should happen ?
I dont know how it works exactly, but if someone is claiming benefits and then gets a job. They inform the correct authorities who instantly cease welfare. What if said job you get paid monthly and have to work a back month or week so on. Would it not be better to give that person welfare up until their 1st full payslip. Then just deduct €10 a week till say 50% of those welfare payments are made and call it quits. Just to let said person settle into working life without having to borrow money for bus fares and say food on the table.
There is a special payment for that situation…
@Thevigilantone: How long does that special payment take to be processed ?
Kerry , it’s meant to be straight away so people are not losing out during the changeover …
You have to take a morning off work and go to the community welfare officer to get that payment as I know
People are allowed to earn a limited amount of money without losing social welfare (Around 200 euro I think). If you take it away at too low a level they will not seek work
20 hours work.
There’s Erick I thought he emigrated.
The now deceased father of our current Minister for Housing, Hugh Coveney, was a tax dodger who hid tens of thousands in the infamous Ansbacher Bank. There are numerous other examples of TD’s and govt ministers who were caught dodging taxes or expenses claims. What kind of example is it to give ordinary people when those at the top have been scamming the system since the inception of our state?
@Frank Cauldhame: Divide and Conquer,works a treat,serious shit ahead after Collapse of the EU.
More resources for white collar crime please,it costs the public billions more.MORIARTY, SITESERV,NAMA,IBRC ETC.
@mdmak33: Now see that’d actually make sense! Can’t be doing that!
”Up to the end of November, the unit had generated savings of €67 million.”
Roughly 15% of the £400 million that the Stormont assembly in the North have just wasted on a botched heating scheme. Welfare fraud can’t compete with elected government.
If everyone was given a basic income regardless of job status this ‘problem’ would disappear overnight.
The idea certainly has its merits, expensive, but it could definitely be done.
Anyone found to be defrauding Social Welfare in any shape or form should have it withdrawn for 1 Year for the the First Offence and if caught a second time withdrawn for life.
@Mick Jordan: Anyone caught defrauding not just social welfare. I mean bankers, lawyers. politicans, business people should have this happen but it wont Mick will it?
The Department of Social Protection received over 20,000 reports of welfare fraud from members of the public up to the end of November.
How many of these were genuine and not malicious at all???
If you’re doing nothing wrong then you have nothing to worry about.
Almost half a billion, wow is all I can say.
If more effort was put in I think you could at least double the savings.
I’d say a lot lot lot more could be saved by targeting the usual suspects!
“20,000 reports from the public!”. This gov would hardly tell the truth for once, would they, and say their own gov officials are going round checking up on people.
Keep the so called classes suspicious and blaming each other. A political ploy that’s as old as the hills
Yes I agree that politicians are parasites but working and claiming the dole is just as bad. How many are coming into this country to swell our own crowd who just sponge off the state?
Brilliant news, its past time to sort out this scandal and and stop these spongers from robbing the rest of who are so heavily taxed.
@Sean Lyons: I’m heavily taxed Sean most of that seems to be going to pay off private debits generated by banks. Personally as a human I’m would be quite happy to see some of my tax going to those less well off then me.
It’s actually a tiny percentage of govt revenue that goes to pay the bailout interest so you get your wish
20000 reports from the public means nothing . Could be many reasons for this. Firstly Irish people are whiners. Possibly people are working part time and entitled to dole. Could be the final payment . Could be fake reports out of spite. This happens a lot I’m sure. It’s not right is people are working & claiming at the same time but maybe they recently found a job and need the extra cash to get started again. In this case it gets repaid . I’ve heard of people doing this for years .
@Ronan McDermott: if you only work 3 days or less you can work and claim welfare for days you don’t work. All filled in by employer on a weekly basis and all above board. I
Well there you go. So it’s quite possible & legal to do both
100% jump in Politicans robbing the expenses cupboard
It is a bit odd to lead with the reporting of allegations (so people calling a fraud hotline), rather than actual numbers of proved fraudulent claims. It creates a false impression that fraud is rampant and we are all citizen-police checking up on our neighbours.
Complete nonsense and I suspect Leo feels hard done by in running a non discript department that generates little news. Nothing short of a ploy by this clown to increase his profile. The system’s in place now ( which includes direct and regular checking with employers and revenue with sharing of data) makes it near impossible to scam the system. I for one am not believing any of this nonsense coming out of Leo,s mouth
Leo is an inept politican, should stick to medicine, an embarrasment when holding the health portfolio, every time I see his face I think just how useless he is, unfortunately so many of them are.
Many are probably earning on the side lying on their back, to put it politely?
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