Social welfare claimants to sign on via text

JUST a year after it said social welfare recipients should produce photo ID because it was losing millions in fraudulent claims, the Government is planning to let claimants “sign on” by text.

In a move which Fine Gael TDs say will leave the system wide open to fraud, the Department for Social Protection has awarded a €1m contract to Hewlett Packard in Kildare to “develop and support a mobile phone-based solution for dynamic selection of and self-certification by claimants of unemployment benefits”.

To qualify for jobseeker’s benefit or jobseeker’s allowance, a jobseeker must fulfil a number of conditions, including being available for and genuinely seeking work. At regular intervals they must make a declaration that they are still unemployed, available for and actively seeking work.

At present this certification process is done by attending the social welfare local office. However, the department’s new project “examines the potential to develop an additional channel for Jobseeker’s certification via the mobile phone”.

It said selected customers would be invited to register for and avail of this service, which would be rolled out on a phased basis, once a “solution performance evaluation” process has been completed.

“This service will potentially allow people who receive Jobseeker’s Allowance and Jobseeker’s Benefit to complete the certification process by mobile phone,” a spokeswoman said.

“Potentially the service will provide an alternative to the requirement for Jobseeker’s Allowance and Jobseeker’s Benefit claimants to attend their Social Welfare Local Office to certify and it will provide improved customer service and also reduce the departmental resources required to administer certification.”

Cost savings would accrue from reducing the effort required to certify jobseekers at the department’s local offices, meaning staff would be freed to concentrate on client, claim, payment and control issues. However, Fine Gael’s social and family affairs spokes-woman Olwyn Enright said the proposed scheme left “huge room” for fraud, for example claiming while not even in the country.

“Why did they bother changing the legislation so that new people have to sign on and be visible?”

Last year a spot check found up to 10% of dole claims were fraudulent – mostly made by, or in the name of, people living outside of Ireland. At the time it was decided photographic identification would be required of the growing number of people collecting the dole and other social welfare payments.

Hewlett Packard has refused to comment on the new scheme.