Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 2 Jul 1996

Vol. 467 No. 7

Written Answers. - Social Welfare Fraud.

Joe Walsh

Ceist:

310 Mr. J. Walsh asked the Minister for Social Welfare the total amount of money detected by his Department in relation to abuse, fraud, unwarranted claiming and the failure to honour PRSI obligations in respect of the 1995/1996 financial year. [14253/96]

Minister for Social Welfare (Proinsias De Rossa)

In 1995, £11.6 million, representing 10,820 cases, was recorded as being attributable to fraud or suspected fraud. This compares with gross expenditure of £4.2 billion.

With regard to PRSI the Department makes a determined effort to detect employers who fail to honour their obligations under the PRSI system. This effort is undertaken to ensure that all employers comply with their PRSI obligations and to prevent people in employment from fraudulently claiming social welfare payments.

A programme of employer inspections is carried out each year with some 8,000 employers visited in 1995. A total of £16 million in unpaid PAYE/PRSI was detected in 1995 as a result of these inspections. The programme of inspections includes a number of revisits to employers to ensure that they continue to comply with their legal obligations. All indicators show that there is now an increased level of employer awareness of, and compliance with, PRSI legislation.