Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 29 September 2026
492. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of social welfare claims that have been detected through data matching with Revenue before any payment was issued; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [68111/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra493. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Social Protection the outstanding social welfare overpayment owed to his Department for each of the past ten years, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [68110/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra495. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of social welfare claims that have been detected through data matching with Revenue before any payment was issued; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [68122/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra499. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Social Protection the percentage of fraud investigations which originate from anonymous reports compared with internal data analytics; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [68126/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 492, 493, 495 and 499 together.
My Department is committed to ensuring that only those people who are eligible, receive payments and other social protection entitlements. Achieving this requires that robust safeguards are in place that secure payment systems, detect possible fraud and error, and prevent possible fraudulent claiming. All schemes operated by my Department are subject to on-going control reviews and eligibility checks.
The Department’s Compliance and Anti-fraud Strategy comprises four pillars: “Prevent”, “Deter”, “Detect” and “Account”, which are leveraged to ensure that suspected fraud and non-compliance in our welfare system is kept to a minimum.
The Department continues to improve its data matching capabilities with external bodies and agencies, including with Revenue, to improve claim processing, and identify inconsistencies in information provided to the Department by persons making or re-establishing an entitlement. Information is only exchanged in line with the appropriate legislative provisions.
A decision on eligibility for a Social Welfare payment is based on the relevant evidence provided in support of the claim, the facts available at the time and the application of the appropriate legislation. A range of verification processes are employed to validate and verify the information provided by an applicant when making a claim or when their entitlement is being reviewed.
A Decision may be recorded as Suspected Fraud where a Deciding Officer is satisfied that there is sufficient evidence that a person deliberately provided false or misleading information or wilfully concealed relevant information in relation to their entitlement. There is a high evidential standard to be met in such cases. The information requested on the percentage of fraud investigations which originate from anonymous reports compared with internal data analytics is not recorded or collated by the Department.
Where overpayments are identified, recovery is pursued through a number of channels including through deductions from schemes in payment, repayment by way of direct debits or through attachments of earnings. Fraudulent claiming may also be the subject of prosecution.
Please see below the breakdown of the value of overpayments raised and recoveries recorded year on year for 2016 – 2025. At the end of 2015 the outstanding debt balance was €597.4m.
|
Year |
Net Overpayments Raised |
Gross Recoveries |
|
2016 |
€110.0m |
€82.0m |
|
2017 |
€111.1m |
€81.3m |
|
2018 |
€108.0m |
€81.1m |
|
2019 |
€116.6m |
€82.2m |
|
2020 |
€99.2m |
€75.2m |
|
2021 |
€122.8m |
€77.7m |
|
2022 |
€111.7m |
€80.5m |
|
2023 |
€115.8m |
€87.4m |
|
2024 |
€157.5m |
€100.8m |
|
2025 |
€168.7m |
€119.0m |
I trust this clarifies these matters for the Deputy.
