THE CABINET will consider proposals for closer co operation between the Department of Social Welfare and the Revenue Commissioners in an effort to reduce the incidence of dole fraud.
Wednesday's Cabinet meeting will also discuss plans to improve the flow of information between the State training agency, FAS, and the Department of Social Welfare. The Department will also commission further surveys similar to the investigation by the Central Statistics Office which exposed the extent of fraud.
There will be more coordinated "swoops" in specific areas, similar to the one in Co Donegal last July in which inspectors from the Department visited more than 140 places of employment to check for dole abuse.
Despite speculation about the introduction of identity cards, there is scepticism in Government circles that these would have any significant impact on dole fraud.
Government sources said there was a lack of interaction" between FAS and the Department and an insufficient exchange of information. It was appreciated that FAS was in the "training business" and did not want to acquire a reputation for "checking up" on trainees in regard to social welfare.
"Other agencies don't particularly want to be the watchdog for the Department of Social Welfare," Government sources said. But nobody had the right to claim a training allowance in addition to social welfare unless permitted to do so as part of a special scheme.
Greater integration between the computer systems of the Department and the Revenue Commissioners "and perhaps FAS" was required. This would facilitate cross checking between employer records and those of the Department.
At present, a new employee who takes up work in February may not be detected as illegally claiming social welfare until December or later. A report from the Integrated Social Services Group last month made a series of recommendations for improved co operation.
It is proposed to carry out further surveys to assess the impact of measures taken to reduce the incidence of dole abuse: "There are no dramatic solutions to this particular problem," Government sources said. "This is an ongoing thing."
The Minister for Social Welfare, Mr De Rossa, said: "I am the first Minister and this is the first Government that has been prepared to tackle this issue head on and to lift the lid on this Pandora's Box."
He rejected criticism by the Fianna Fail Social Welfare spokesman, Mr Joe Walsh over cutting the travel and subsistence budget for his staff from £2.467 million to £2.4 million. "Last year Fianna Fail were saying I was spending too much on social welfare and I should cut it. They are now complaining that I pared £67,000 off a travel budget of almost £2.5 million for the whole department of over 4,000 staff," he said.
The Labour Party MEP for Dublin, Ms Bernie Malone, has called for a "sense of balance" in the reaction to the CSO findings on social welfare fraud. "Let's not lose all sense of proportion," she said. The level of fraud that could be achieved by any one individual "dwarfs into insignificance when compared to white collar crime and other major financial scandals", she claimed.