Mary Lou McDonald
Question:95. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Social Protection the total number of staff in her Department working on tackling social welfare fraud. [5954/14]
View answerThursday, 6 February 2014
Questions (95)
Written answers
The control process is an integral part of the day to day operations of the Department. All staff of the Department 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 claim life-cycle process. There are approximately 650 staff whose exclusive responsibilities are related to control activities. 400 of these work as Social Welfare Inspectors or are staff within the Special Investigation Unit (SIU). The remainder are based in other control units throughout the Department.
In addition, it should be noted that:
- Staff who work across the Department's Intreo Centres and local offices, including the community welfare service, have a strong control dimension to their work. The roll out of the Intreo service to jobseekers presents a clear opportunity to improve control performance in relation to jobseeker clients. The integrated decision-making and the case management approach has both client service benefits and also improves control across schemes.
- Departmental Medical Assessors carry out medical review examinations of clients in receipt of illness and disability payments to ensure that the scheme medical qualifying conditions are still met.
The exclusive function of the Department’s Special Investigation Unit (SIU), which comprises some 100 officers, is to investigate and report on fraud and abuse of social welfare schemes. It involves a broad range of management, liaison, enforcement, investigative, intelligence gathering duties and operates at the high or more organised end of social welfare fraud and abuse. The Unit carries out a wide range of control activities and projects. It also works closely with Revenue staff in Joint Investigation Units, with staff from the National Employment Rights Authority, the Gardaí and other compliance and enforcement agencies.