More than €190m in fraudulent welfare payments recouped

More than €190 million in fraudulent social welfare overpayments have been recouped in the last four years, new figures show.

Figures released by Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton show between January 2011 and December 2014, more than 96,000 fraudulent overpayments were uncovered.

The largest number of frauds, 27,486, worth €61.9 million, were detected in 2013. In 2014, there were 27,437 cases, worth €52.5 million.

Both figures showed considerable increase on the previous two years; in 2012, 20,720 cases were detected, worth €40.9 million, and in 2011, €34.9 million was recouped from 20,585 fraudulent claims.

The most common types of social welfare fraud include claiming jobseekers’ allowance while working, multiple claiming, impersonation and non-resident claiming.

Fraud detection has been assisted by members of the public, who can report it anonymously online to the department or by post or over the phone.

In 2014, more than 21,000 tip-offs were received, up from 1,044 in 2008, but less than at the peak in 2013, when there were some 24,700.

In response to a parliamentary question tabled by Fine Gael TD Derek Keating, the Minister said overpayments generally arise as a result of a deciding officer revising a decision on an entitlement.

“These officers decide the effective date of a revised decision having regard to the new facts or new evidence and the circumstances of the case,” she said.

Mr Keating welcomed the detections and said it was unacceptable when the system was abused.

“Social welfare support is extremely valuable and this was never more evident than during the recession, when people found themselves out of work and genuinely in need of the State’s assistance,” he said.