Department of Social Protection announces €645m saving
Some €645m has been saved in a crackdown on welfare fraud, the Government has revealed today.
Department of Social Protection officials reviewed 982,000 individual benefit claims and received a record 16,920 anonymous tip-offs about irregular claims last year.
Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton said the level of savings is well above the target of €540m.
“It shows our commitment to tackling fraud and abuse of the social welfare system across our broad range of schemes,” she said.
The department’s fraud review showed:
* €167m saved from irregular One Parent Family payments;
* Pensions savings of almost €142m;
* More than €92m through illness payments;
* Savings in jobseekers claims worth more than €82m, with more than 222,000 claims reviewed;
* More than 392,000 child benefit payment claims reviewed resulting in savings of about €88m.
