Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 29 May 2013
145. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection the extent to which overpayments have been monitored by her Department in each of the past five years to date; the number of such overpayments identified in each year; if this was caused by oversight on the part of the applicant or her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26269/13]
View answerThe Department's debt management strategy is set out in the Fraud Initiative which I published in September 2011. It outlines that every effort must be made to prevent overpayments, but, if they occur, they should be regarded as a debt to the Exchequer, and every effort will be made to recover the amounts through all available means. Overpayments are generally defined as money obtained contrary to - or in excess of - a valid decision. Most overpayments arise as a result of a revised decision regarding entitlement. Deciding officers decide the effective date of a revised decision having regard to the new facts or new evidence and the circumstances of the case. An overpayment is assessed for the period that a person was not entitled to a payment and the recovery of the overpayment is followed up by the relevant section of the Department.
The Department categorises overpayments as fraud, non-fraud and estate cases. Fraud cases arise mainly on foot of false declarations by customers concerning their employment, income or family status while non-fraud cases are primarily due to customer, third party or departmental error. Estate cases arise where undisclosed means by customers (usually pensioners) come to light after their deaths. The total number of cases of overpayment in each of the past five years, and the number caused by departmental error, is outlined in the following table.
|
Year |
Total number of cases |
Departmental error cases |
|
2007 |
46,400 |
3,483 |
|
2008 |
49,100 |
3,768 |
|
2009 |
42,500 |
4,375 |
|
2010 |
52,600 |
7,204 |
|
2011 |
63,330 |
6,062 |
The Department is not in a position to publicly report overpayments recorded in 2012 as these figures form part of the statutory accounts of the Department and are subject to audit by the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General.
The Department endeavours to seek the maximum level of repayments from customers in order to encourage full and prompt repayment of all debts. We are fully committed to recovering 100% of all overpayments and an overpayment will remain on a customer's record until fully recovered. This will result in a reduction of all future entitlements up to and including state pension and potentially a claim on any estate after death.
