Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 2 May 2017
560. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of cases of persons using makeup in order to claim welfare payments illegally in each of the years 2006 to 2016 respectively, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19795/17]
Amharc ar fhreagra561. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of cases of people using false beards in order to claim welfare payments illegally in each of the years 2006 to 2016, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19796/17]
Amharc ar fhreagra562. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Social Protection the manner by which the use of a false beard in order to claim a welfare payment illegally is officially recorded by his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19797/17]
Amharc ar fhreagra571. Deputy Denise Mitchell asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of cases in 2016 in which persons have been detected using disguises to impersonate others and fraudulently claim social welfare payments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19994/17]
Amharc ar fhreagra599. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons reported and charged with making fraudulent claims for social protection payments by disguising their identity with beards or makeup; and the number of these alleged frauds that were reported to An Garda Síochána for each of the years 2014 to 2016. [20471/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 560 to 562, inclusive, 571 and 599 together.
As part of the rollout of the Public Services Card (PSC), my Department introduced facial recognition software in March 2013 to support its efforts to combat identity fraud and impersonation. This software is used to ensure that multiple or fraudulent identities can be detected at the point where a person registers for a personal public services number (PPSN) or a PSC. The software utilises a biometric template of a human face digitised from a photograph. The system identifies a person by measuring certain structural features of their face and comparing these with other identity records maintained by the Department. Every new photograph captured by the PSC process is compared with all other photographs on the database. This ensures that an individual has not already been registered for a PSC using a different identity.
Where there is suspicion that a person has attempted to gain a PSC where a Card has already been issued to a person matching the same facial profile, the matter is referred to the Department’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU) to make further enquiries and to refer the matter to An Garda Síochána for investigation and prosecution under the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001, as appropriate.
The Deputies should note that as of 25 April 2017, 155 suspected cases of identity fraud have been referred to the SIU and/or An Garda Síochána. These cases are at various stages of investigation. Successful prosecutions have been finalised in court in 21 cases, with 18 people receiving custodial sentences.
