Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 11 May 2005
214 Dr. Upton asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if his attention has been drawn to the fact that social welfare payments awarded via a bank account are delayed by one day when a Monday bank holiday occurs; his views on whether this delay in payment causes hardship to social welfare recipients; if this delay will be removed in future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15548/05]
View answerMy Department makes payments to approximately 667,000 customers who are in receipt of long-term benefit on schemes such as old age, lone parent and invalidity pension. Some 168,000 of my Department's long-term customers receive their payment entitlements by way of electronic funds transfer, EFT. This facility allows these customers to receive their payment into their bank accounts. There would not normally be any delay in EFT payments being made over a bank holiday period. All EFT payments are lodged on their due date, except where this coincides with a bank holiday, in which case the lodgement is made a day earlier.
A specific problem occurred with payments due to be lodged to customers' accounts on Thursday, 5 May in that an incorrect date was entered during the transmission stage of the processing cycle. This only came to light on the day in question and, despite efforts to have these payments credited that day, this proved not to be possible. All payments were available to customers on Friday, 6 May. My Department greatly regrets the delay which occurred in this instance. A major review of the systems for generating and transmitting payments under my Department's long-term schemes is under way and all the procedures involved are being examined in this context to ensure that they are fully robust and that incidents of this kind do not recur.
