Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton today announced a welfare fraud initiative which aims to achieve savings of €625 million next year.
Central to the scheme is a detailed fraud control plan placing greater emphasis on inter-agency co-operation at national and local level.
“Social welfare fraud is often perceived as a victimless crime. But I am conscious that it undermines public confidence in the entire system as well as being unfair to other recipients of social welfare payments and taxpayers and legitimate businesses,” Ms Burton said.
Other aspects of the initiative include greater presence of social welfare inspectors on the ground, targeting sectors where fraud is more likely to occur and examining new ways to recover overpayments.
It also proposes examining increased penalties for those operating in the hidden economy and greater liaison with employers on labour market trends.
A new Public Services Card will be distributed to social welfare recipients.
The Minister said her department will focus on employers as well as individuals. “The provisional target for the number of employer inspections in 2012 and 2013 is in the region of 2,500 to 3,500 each year,” she said.
She said there would be a consultation seminar with the relevant stakeholders on this fraud initiative later this year.
“The Department of Social Protection processes in excess of two million applications each year and it makes payments to over 1.4 million people every week,” she said. “I want to emphasise that the vast majority of people are receiving the entitlement due to them.’’
The full details of the new plan including case studies of successful investigations carried out by the Department of Social Protection are posted on the department’s website at welfare.ie
