Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 24 June 2026
212. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Social Protection if his Department has assessed the impact of not collecting data on the nationality or place of birth of qualified adults on the accuracy of expenditure forecasting, fraud detection, and long term welfare planning; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47969/26]
View answerPreventing fraudulent claims from entering the social welfare system and carrying out review activity to identify possible fraudulent claims in payment are key requirements for my Department. My Department carries out a range of control measures across all its schemes to prevent, detect and deter fraud. During 2025 figures indicate that just over 715,000 reviews of social welfare claims have been undertaken, resulting in savings of almost €655 million. My Department acknowledges the importance of accurate data in expenditure forecasting and fraud detection; however, it is not the department’s policy to profile individuals based on nationality or place of birth.
My Department measures the underlying incidence rate of suspected fraud via control surveys. The surveys examine all relevant eligibility criteria, including both the means test and the Habitual Residence Condition, where applicable. Statistical tests for statistically significant associations of overpayments relation to fraud and error and have consistently found that there is no difference in the likelihood of overpayments between Irish and non-Irish customers.
