Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 July 2022
1242. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of means test reviews of persons in receipt of the State pension (non-contributory), by age and county in tabular form (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40604/22]
View answerWhile it is acknowledged that most people on social welfare are claiming the correct entitlement due to them, my Department has a duty to ensure that it pays the right person the right amount of money at the right time. Therefore, it is important that all schemes operated are subject to on-going control reviews and eligibility checks.
Control reviews can arise from targeted and random case selections, or where specific information comes to the attention of the Department. Factors such as length of time since last review, or where information is received from other agencies – such as the Revenue Commissioners - or members of the public can also trigger control reviews. In this context, it should be noted that customers are under a legal obligation to report any change in their circumstances (income or means) to the Department.
My Department is committed to ensuring that the principles of due process and natural justice are followed in all claim decisions. This applies equally to decisions at initial claim stage and when claims are subsequently reviewed.
I am advised that the number of control reviews and savings are recorded for each scheme using the customers PPSN only, as the unique identifier. Control reviews are not collated by county or by age category.
The numbers of Control Reviews carried out between 2015 and 2022 on State Pension Non-Contributory (SPNC) claims and the respective savings are outlined in the table below.
|
Year |
No. of Reviews |
No of Reviews with Savings |
Amt. of savings €M |
|
2015 |
7,286 |
1,084 |
€27.165 |
|
2016 |
7,618 |
991 |
€26.829 |
|
2017 |
7,782 |
1,551 |
€33.175 |
|
2018 |
6,956 |
2,813 |
€42.732 |
|
2019 |
7,161 |
2,846 |
€43.116 |
|
2020 |
4,248 |
1,780 |
€32.073 |
|
2021 |
8,075 |
2,510 |
€31.804 |
|
2022 (30th June) |
6,295 |
1,442 |
€19.198 |
I hope that this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
