Liz O'Donnell
Ceist:22 Ms O'Donnell asked the Minister for Social Welfare the savings in each of the past five years as a result of the measures now in place to detect social welfare fraud.
Written Answers. - Social Welfare Fraud Detection.
The information requested by the Deputy is only available for the last three years and this is set out in the following table.
While control of fraud and abuse of social welfare payments has always been a function of my Department it has been given added emphasis in recent years. In 1991 my Department initiated a project with the aim of creating a more focused approach across all its schemes and in the area of employer compliance. This was followed in 1992 by the setting up of a control division with a dedicated role to analyse, co-ordinate and report on all anti-fraud and abuse initiatives and activities.
The success of this strategy is illustrated by the fact that in the period 1991 to 1993 savings from these measures amounted to £235.5 million with £106 million of this being achieved in 1993.
|
Year |
Savings |
|
£m |
|
|
1991 |
47.0 |
|
1992 |
82.44 |
|
1993 |
106.09 |
|
Total |
235.50 |
Note: It is estimated that savings in 1994 will be of the order of £110 million.