The Department of Social and Family Affairs today said it had achieved savings of €228 million through fraud-control measures in first six months of 2009.
The Department said it had reviewed more than 300,000 individual social welfare claims and had received in excess of 2,500 reports of suspected fraud by members of the public.
In the first half of the year, some 328,000 individual claims for social welfare payments were examined, with assessments of One Parent Family payments accounting for over €55 million savings, followed by pensions savings of over €45 million and over €40 million through illness payments.
Savings in Jobseekers claims were almost €30 million, with over 67,000 claims reviewed, while there were over 114,000 Child Benefit payment claims reviewed resulting in savings of almost €39 million.
Almost 800 employers underwent PRSI inspections to check their compliance, and 77 per cent found to be fully compliant.
In terms of legal proceedings, up to the end of June 2009, 94 cases were forwarded to the Chief State Solicitor Office (CSSO) to begin proceedings. A total of 190 cases were finalised in court, of which 174 related to Jobseekers claims, with 126 having fines handed down, a prison sentence imposed in four cases, the Probation Act given in 19 cases and suspended sentences passed in 14 cases.
A further 851 cases are with the CSSO/local state solicitors at various stages of the prosecution process.
Commenting on the findings, Minister for Social and Family Affairs Mary Hanafin said a new feature of countering possible fraud was the "massive increase" in reports of suspected abuse being reported by the public.
“In the first six months of this year 2,581 reports were received in the Central Control Section of the Department, compared with just 362 in the same period last year. While not all of the cases being reported can be followed up, due to insufficient information or no claim being in payment, each and every report made by a member of the public is followed up by the appropriate area to assess if action is necessary,” she said.
Ms Hanafin said State agencies and bodies are continuing to share information to the Department that can be used to assess eligibility for entitlement. Regular data matches occur with the Revenue Commissioners on employment status and the General Register’s Office on birth, marriages and deaths.
“Preventing possible fraud or overpayment from the earliest possible stage in a claim is a key element of the work undertaken by the 620 staff across the Department," the Minister said.
"A critical element of putting all claims into payment is ensuring that the right payment is going to the right person only for the period they are entitled to it. This is a vital element of the on-going control work.”
Ms Hanafin added that 16 more social welfare inspectors were appointed this year, bringing the number of general inspectors almost 400.
