Department may have to write off monies owed

RISING levels of welfare appeals have led to fears the Department of Social Protection will have to do a huge write-down of money owed by overpaid dole recipients.

Some welfare claimants have been overpaid by as much as €77,000 but the department is having difficulty clawing back funds.

The head of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) yesterday voiced concern that the levels of debt written off by the department will rise in the coming months and years.

The latest figures reveal that the department wrote off debts belonging to claimants of €11.5 million in 2009, more than double the previous year’s amount.

PAC chairman John McGuinness questioned department secretary general Niamh O’Donoghue about the amounts being written off. The Fianna Fáil TD said he was shocked by the numbers of people who had been overpaid in welfare payments. He said he was aware of three cases where claimants were being asked to pay €75,000, €42,000 and €35,000 separately.

The overpayments occurred every week for years but only emerged when claimants gave extra details to departments.

“There would seem to be a systems failure that would allow that to happen. The people concerned don’t have €75,000 to give [back] ... in one case €500 is being sought [back] a week,” the PAC chief said.

Ms O’Donoghue said the amount of debt the department expected to write off this year had not been calculated. But she detailed the numbers of welfare debts written off and appeals which had occurred in recent years. The highest amount of debt written-off in 2009 was for €77,000 which related to an overpaid widow pensioner, where there was no prospect of recovering the amount.