Social Welfare Fraud Data

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 21 November 2013

Thursday, 21 November 2013

Questions (112)

Patrick O'Donovan

Question:

112. Deputy Patrick O'Donovan asked the Minister for Social Protection if her Department officials carried out interviews on persons travelling through Irish airports and ferry terminals as a means of detecting social welfare fraud; if she will provide details in tabular form of the number of interviews per airport and ferry terminals that were carried out in 2012; the number of payments that were discontinued as a result of these interviews; if she will provide details of any prosecutions that have been initiated as a result of same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49994/13]

Written answers

Minister for Social Protection

Provision was made in the Social Welfare & Pension Act 2012 to allow for Social Welfare Inspectors to exercise certain functions at ports and airports for the purpose of ensuring compliance with the Act. The measure is a prescribed one in that it allows for a power of enquiry in specific circumstances. The powers came into effect on 7th June 2012.

Persons are interviewed where there are reasonable grounds to believe that an offence under the Social Welfare Acts has taken place. Generally activity is confined to either directly interviewing the person concerned on embarking or disembarking as well as sometimes observing a person embark/disembark with an interview subsequently being undertaken. The table indicates the level of detections which have led to payments being stopped and disallowed since June 2012.

Airport	Number of detections	Cases under investigation
Dublin	72	34
Cork/Shannon	50	11
Total	122	45

Resulting from the operation of these powers, there have been five cases prosecuted under Criminal Justice Legislation. All of these cases have been fully concluded before the courts and further two cases are currently waiting to be brought before the courts.

Question No. 113 withdrawn.