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New powers to tackle social welfare fraud by non-Irish nationals

Last update - Tuesday, May 1, 2012, 13:28 By Metro Éireann

Non-Irish nationals who are defrauding the State are to be fished out and made to return to their countries of origin, the Social Protection Minister has said.

Announcing new powers to crack down on social welfare fraud in the country, Minister Joan Burton said she will use social welfare inspectors to help in the prevention and detection of fraud.
Under social welfare legislation, a condition of entitlement is that people in receipt of certain payments must be living here. The new powers, said the minister, will ensure that people who are not living in the State are prevented from accessing welfare.
The changes will enable social welfare inspectors to combat social welfare fraud and abuse at ports and airports, to make inquiries of landlords and to require identity checks for social welfare claims.
The minister said: “Social welfare fraud is often perceived as a victimless crime but I am conscious that it undermines public confidence in the entire system as well as being unfair to other recipients of social welfare payments and to taxpayers.”
Minister Burton revealed that some people are entering the Republic “solely for the purposes of continuing to claim social welfare payments to which they are not entitled”.
According to the minister, since 2010 as many as “1,400 people were found not to be resident and continuing to claim social welfare payments. The detection resulted in Exchequer savings of €13m. These new powers would be of particular use in tackling this type of social welfare fraud.”
Among the changes being implemented is “a new power of enquiry to landlords” to ensure the correct payment of Rent Supplement.
“Almost 95,000 people receive rent supplement at a cost of €503m last year and a forecasted €437m this year,” said Minister Burton.


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