Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 18 July 2013
323. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of additional staff resources and the hours spent on each case in 2012 and 2013 that deal with social welfare fraud; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36328/13]
View answerThe control process is an integral part of the day-to-day operations of the Department and all staff involved in the administration of the various social welfare schemes are acutely aware of the need to implement appropriate controls at every stage of the process.
There are some 640 staff dedicated to control activities. This includes approximately 400 Social Welfare and Special Investigation Unit (SIU) Inspectors. The remainder of the staff are based in scheme headquarters or other control units. Each major headquarter scheme section has a dedicated control unit which initiates, undertakes and co-ordinates all control activities within their respective areas. These units are also involved in data-matching projects in order to select cases for review. While some 'desk review' work is carried out at the scheme control units, the detailed investigations are sent to Inspectors, including the SIU.
The SIU carry out a wide range of control activities and projects which include reviewing means tested claims and entitlements, investigating fraud and abuse and carrying out employer inspections. The Unit works jointly with Revenue staff in the Joint Investigation Units and also does other inter-agency work with other bodies such as NERA, Customs and the Gardaí.
The Deputy will be aware that staff who work across the Department's local office structure have a strong control dimension to their work. Equally, the 1,700 or so Community Welfare Service and FÁS staff who transferred to the Department in the recent years are very aware of the need for appropriate controls to be applied across the range of schemes they operate.
Overall, I believe that a more integrated approach to fraud control to now be realised across the Department as a single customer view for control purposes is now available.
In addition, the Deputy should also note that:
- Activation and Control Teams operate at local level. They provide a focal point for the management and co-ordination of all the activities and resources in relation to the control of schemes at local level. They augment general control activity with particular approaches based on local knowledge and circumstances; and
- Medical Assessors carry out medical review examinations and desk reviews/assessments of medical reports. This is in order to provide a second medical opinion for the guidance of Deciding and Appeals Officers on all medical aspects of the illness schemes.
Control activity is, therefore, carried out in a number of ways by different staff and teams across the Department. The breakdown of the number of hours spent on each case is not available.
