Written Answers. - Social Welfare Fraud.
Trevor Sargent
Ceist:
122
Mr. Sargent
asked the
Minister for Social and Family Affairs
the extent of fraud investigations made by her Department in the past year and their effect; the number of investigations; the number of successful frauds detected; the number of people involved in such frauds; the number of weeks payments affected; and the categories of social welfare payments so utilised.
[13512/03]
Mary Upton
Ceist:
128
Dr. Upton
asked the
Minister for Social and Family Affairs
the amount social welfare fraud is likely to cost her Department in 2003; the cost of fraud investigations conducted by her Department to date in 2003; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[13558/03]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 122 and 128 together.
The detection of fraud and abuse of the social welfare system is an integral part of the day to day work of my Department. The work of all staff who are engaged in any aspect of claims processing is to some degree concerned with preventing and detecting fraud and abuse. There are some 600 staff at local, regional and national level whose work is entirely or significantly related to the control of fraud and abuse of the social welfare system. Some 300 of these are responsible for routine investigations under the various schemes and for reporting on and following up suspected cases of fraud, where these are discovered.
There are some 82 staff in special investigation units, whose specific purpose is to investigate fraud and abuse. These units, one of which works jointly with inspectors from the Revenue Commissioners, carry out inspections of employers in relation to their PRSI obligations. They also investigate cases where fraud or abuses of the schemes are suspected. In addition to the special investigation units, all of the main scheme areas have staff dedicated to the control of fraud.
During 2002 a total of 341,428 reviews of social welfare claims and 8,854 employer inspections were carried out by control staff, resulting in overall savings of €282.7 million. Review numbers include routine reviews which monitor ongoing entitlements to social welfare payments, as well as reviews of those suspected of making fraudulent claims. The special investigation units carried out a total of 26,065 reviews and investigations during 2002, resulting in savings of €37.3 million. In addition, 2,161 employer inspections were carried out by the unit which resulted in the detection of €9.24 million in PAYE-PRSI arrears. Arising from the reviews and investigations carried out by control staff, 13,786 cases of fraud were detected which resulted in overpayments of €11.8 million being identified and these are included in the savings above. Approximately 12,600 of these payments related to unemployment schemes.
In addition to the overpayments set up, rates of payment were reduced or claims were terminated where cases of fraud or abuse were identified. This resulted in significant ongoing savings on social welfare payments and these are reflected in the control savings already mentioned. In the nature of fraud, especially social welfare fraud, it is difficult to offer a definitive assessment of its extent. The aim of the activities outlined, however, is to reduce fraud to a minimum. The target for control savings for 2003 is €331 million.
Up to the end of April 2003, approximately 104,000 reviews of claims have taken place and these have yielded control savings of €102 million. Separate figures are not maintained as to the cost of carrying out these reviews and investigations which are an integral part of the work of the Department.
