Sir, – I read that a man in Cork who claimed the pensions of his dead parents over a period of 33 years was only caught when his father became eligible for the centenary bounty cheque for reaching the age of 100. After much searching, the father could not be found (News, February 16th).
The Department of Social Protection should have a system in place to ensure this cannot happen. Everyone has a PPS number, and with current advances in information technology surely this sort of occurrence could be prevented.
I am a retired employee of St James’s Hospital and in receipt of a pension, and I have to sign a declaration annually that is verified by a third party and non-relative that I am alive! That is good governance. – Yours, etc,
PAULINE HANNON,
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Terenure,
Dublin 12.
Sir, – The recent massive social protection fraud in Cork will likely serve those involved in criminal activity with an example of how easy it is to defraud the Department of Social Protection.
I respectfully suggest that there is obviously some basic lack of checking of the authenticity of applications for payment of social protection. The case in Cork showed how a man got away with defrauding the department over a period of approximately 33 years. That speaks for itself in relation to proof of the lack of proper checking by the department.
It also seems obvious that particular checks should be made in respect of applications for payment made by people on behalf of others.
In my view, it would not take great ingenuity to work out how such applications should be regularly checked and, for example, the public services card or other proof of identity of the person on whose behalf the payments are sought should have to be produced by that person. Where that person cannot attend a social protection office, a representative of that office should make an unannounced visit to that person.
With so much poverty in this country at the moment, the public purse should be more carefully guarded. – Yours, etc,
PATRICK KEANE,
Dublin 4.