SOCIAL WELFARE IS NOT A WAY OF LIFE-VARADKAR
Taoiseach-elect writes about his vision for Ireland
SOCIAL welfare is a safety net for a second chance not a way of life, Leo Varadkar tells readers of the Irish Mail on Sunday.
In a column written exclusively for today’s newspaper, the taoiseach-elect outlines his vision for the country and his priorities for the economy.
However, a special MoS investigation into welfare fraud reveals that Mr Varadkar’s constituency is among the worst in the country. We detail where the welfare fraud
blackspots are, and show how billions of euro have been saved as part of a clean-up by the department in recent years.
The Social Protection Minister, who is set to become Ireland’s 14th Taoiseach on Wednesday, writes: ‘If my election as leader has shown anything, it is that Ireland can be a republic of opportunity for all our citizens. What matters is not where we come from, but where we want to go. That is the kind of republic I believe in, one with sound public finances and a strong and competitive economy, where everyone has an equal chance to achieve their full potential through education, equal rights before the law, and employment opportunities.
‘It is one where social welfare is a strong safety net and a second chance, but not a way of life; where work, talent and inventiveness are rewarded and personal freedom and liberty are respected,’ he adds.
Last month, Mr Varadkar championed a push for members of the public to inform on welfare cheats as part of a campaign called Welfare Cheats Cheat Us All.
While critics suggested the level of fraud is relatively small, and Mr Varadkar was using the issue to boost his profile ahead of the Fine Gael leadership election, the MoS can now reveal that more than €2.6bn was saved in the fraud clampdown in the last five years, after more than five million reviews over all welfare schemes.
Our analysis shows that the Dublin Central area – which takes in Dublin city centre as well as Blanchardstown which is in Mr Varadkar’s constituency – had the highest average saving after the department’s probes.
The investigations, known as ‘control reviews’, found cases of overpayment, fraud or a change in a claimant’s circumstances. Not all control reviews lead to savings.
On average the department saved €1,291 for every review of welfare recipients in the area.
The figures revealed by the MoS today detail the savings made from stopping frauds in the jobseeker’s allowance, one-parent family payment, the back-to-education scheme, the back-to-work scheme and the farm assist payment in each department division.
Nationally, the number of reviews increased by 69% from 2012 to 2016. But Dublin Central came under more intense scrutiny with a 90% increase in the number there over the five years. While it has the worst record overall, it wasn’t the worst offender in each individual year. Midlands North – comprising Offaly, Longford, Roscommon and Westmeath – was the biggest blackspot in both 2015 and 2016. Midlands North had the second highest average saving, with €912. The division with the least amount of fraud was Midlands South – Tipperary, Laois and Kilkenny – where €368 was saved per review. The average saving in Galway and Mayo, the West division, was €856. Dubliners on the southside were more fraudulent than northsiders in each year. South County Dublin turned up an average saving of €825. More than 388,000 reviews were carried out in Dublin, most in Dublin North – 41%. Cork Central had one of the lowest offending divisions, proving welfare fraud is not always urban based. Department officials also carried out more reviews in the Leeside division, with a staggering 249,086. In some areas the number of cases reviewed was greater than the number of cases, meaning many cases were reviewed more than once each year. In 2014 there was 73,011 reviews into claims in Midlands South despite there being only 43,889 welfare recipients there. That’s a rate of 261%.
Between 2012 and 2016 almost 2million reviews were conducted with savings of more than €1bn. However, this doesn’t include savings made by the Special Investigations Unit or other centralised schemes. The SIU deals with serious cases of fraud nationwide.
The MoS can reveal that the SIU conducted 116,477 reviews in the last five years, resulting in savings of almost €331m.
That equates to a saving of €2,841 for every case reviewed by the elite unit. Last year the SIU made more savings than any other in the period examined, with €3,429 being saved per review.
Centralised schemes – which include Illness, Disability and Invalidity related schemes, Pensions, Child Benefit, Carer’s Allowance/Benefit and Family Income Supplement – are not broken down by division. Control reviews in these schemes led to almost €1.3bn of savings over the five years. news@mailonsunday.ie
‘A republic where work and talent are rewarded’