More than 320 cases of suspected identity fraud have been referred for investigation by welfare inspectors, according to the Department of Social Protection.
The Department currently uses a process called SAFE registration which authenticates the identity of a person in order to enable them to access to public services.
Once a person has been through this process they are given a Public Services Card (PSC), which they can use to prove their identity when accessing public services. The Department said that by the end of 2023, as a result of the SAFE registration process, a total of 325 cases of suspected identity fraud were referred for investigation. Of these, 41 cases were referred in 2023.
The State also made savings of €526 million through the review of more than 630,000 social welfare claims.
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Details about the compliance and anti-fraud crackdown across last year’s social welfare schemes also show some €115 million worth of welfare overpayments had also been made.
The Department of Social Protection currently operates a number of investigatory teams.
Last year, more than 630,000 customer welfare claims were reviewed, resulting in savings of €526 million. While the €115 million worth of welfare overpayments were identified, repayments of nearly €88 million were made last year.
The Department considered about 430 welfare cases for prosecution last year.
At present, a team of social welfare inspectors is appointed under existing legislation to carry out a range of investigations focusing on applications for the means-tested income support schemes and Pay Related Social Insurance compliance including employment classification.
During 2023, social welfare inspectors carried out over 91,000 investigations across all schemes. Savings of €66.1 million associated with these investigations were reported.
A separate unit handles cases of suspected fraud, which is supported by seconded officers of An Garda Síochána specifically assigned to support complex investigations.
Last year, these specialist inspectors carried out more than 16,200 investigations. By the end of the year, savings worth more €62.9 million were reported.
There is a third investigatory group, known as the Employment Status Investigation Unit, which is a team of 18 inspectors that investigates the employment status of workers to ensure that they are correctly classified as employed or self-employed based on the nature of their arrangements with employers.
They receive tips and requests from customers, workers, employers and the Office of the Revenue Commissioners.
Last year this third investigations group reviewed more than 330 new employers and interviewed more than 1,000 individual workers.
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