Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 8 September 2020
658. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Social Protection if third party agencies, companies or bodies provide her Department with information on recipients of the Covid-19 pandemic unemployment payment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21159/20]
View answerAll social welfare schemes are subject to control and compliance checks in order to ensure that the Exchequer resources provided for those schemes are protected. The pandemic unemployment payment (PUP) scheme is subject to conditionality, in particular that a person must be resident in the State and must have lost their employment due to the pandemic and are now fully unemployed.
To ensure that payments are only made to those with an entitlement, and in line with the provisions of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005, as amended, my Department uses information on PUP recipients received from third party bodies in a number of ways.
For example, in processing the weekly pandemic payments, a reconciliation takes place between the Department’s payment file and Revenue’s payment file for the Wage Subsidy Scheme. This results in claims from those who are being paid by their employer being withheld and not paid by the Department. A prior employment status check is also made by comparing all claims for payment against prior earnings and employment records from Revenue data. Where this check indicates that a person may not have been employed, as claimed, the person is contacted and asked to submit corroborating information. Failure to submit such information may lead to their claim being closed.
My Department has also created a reporting facility at C19EmployerReports@welfare.ie, to allow employers to report potential control issues in relation to the pandemic payment. Each of these reports is examined to ensure that claimants continue to meet the eligibility criteria for the payment.
Finally, the Deputy should note that the Department’s inspection staff also works with and shares information with Gardaí and Customs staff to combat potential fraud and abuse of the social welfare system and to act in the best interests of the Irish taxpayer.
I trust that this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
