All schemes operated by my Department, including State Pension (non-contributory), are subject to ongoing control reviews and continuing eligibility checks. This includes conducting fraud and error surveys which serve to reaffirm the entitlement of randomly selected recipients to their ongoing social welfare payments.
Fraud and error surveys are an integral part of my Department’s overall approach to control. The results provide an indicator of the risk of non-compliance with scheme rules at a point in time. They also provide evidence on where control activities should be focused and inform risk assessment models for schemes.
As the Deputy is aware, my Department is currently conducting a fraud and error survey of the State Pension (non-contributory) scheme. Work has been ongoing for some months and results are not expected to be available for publication until April/May 2018 at the earliest. As this work remains in progress and has not yet finalised, I am not in a position to provide the information sought by the Deputy.
The results of all such surveys are published by my Department and available on the website www.welfare.ie and are made available to the Comptroller and Auditor General.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
