Welfare fraudsters to be named and shamed under new plan

People who are convicted of welfare fraud are to be named and shamed on a quarterly basis, the Minister for Social Protection has said.

Leo Varadkar published the Social Welfare and Pensions Bill on Tuesday allowing for increased protection for members of defined benefit (DB) pension schemes. Employers who sponsor DB schemes must give 12 months' notice of their intention to cease contributions.

It also includes provisions to publish the names, addresses and penalties incurred by people who have been convicted of welfare fraud. It will be published online, and will be similar to the list of tax defaulters published by the Revenue Commissioners.

A recent public campaign targeting welfare fraud has been criticised, with Fianna Fáil TD Willie O’Dea saying adverts on would-be cheats were “ludicrously childish”. He linked the drive against welfare fraud to Mr Varadkar being in the running for the Fine Gael leadership.

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Mr Varadkar defended the proposal to name those guilty of welfare fraud, insisting it was a crime which should be punishable.

“I do not accept this whataboutery that at the moment, ‘don’t bother investigating one crime until you have pursued a worse crime’,” he said. “If that was applied to justice and Garda matters, you would be telling people not to bother reporting burglaries until you have dealt with all the murders. That is rubbish.”

Nine weeks

The publication of names will only apply to those convicted of welfare fraud and to new convictions.

The department will also have the power to reduce the person’s social welfare payment for nine weeks.

The Bill will seek to ensure that same-sex spouses and civil partners of members of occupational pension schemes will be able to obtain, in certain circumstances, a spouse’s pension.

This significant equal-treatment proposal aims to provide that same-sex couples enjoy the same rights and entitlements in this area as married couples.

The Bill will now be submitted for pre-legislative scrutiny by the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection. The Minister said he was keen to have the Bill enacted before the summer recess.

The Bill is being published on the Department of Social Protection Website – www.welfare.ie