Welfare chiefs face probe over PUP checks at airports

Passengers at a Ryanair check-in at Terminal 1, Dublin Airport. Picture: Colin Keegan

Welfare chiefs could face a Data Protection Commission investigation over their pandemic unemployment payment (PUP) eligibility checks.

Officials from the Department of Social Protection have been conducting regular inspections on passengers travelling through airports and ports. These checks include joint inquiries with Revenue and gardaí.

Up until July 28, some 2,500 recipients had their payments stopped as a result.

Concerns, led by deputy data protection commissioner Graham Doyle, have been raised about the legality of the checks. These were first raised in July after it emerged that plane-loads of passengers on certain flights were being asked for their name and date of birth by welfare inspectors at Dublin Airport boarding gates.

The information was then used to see if passengers getting the PUP were eligible. 

PUP eligibility criteria changed in July to include a requirement that recipients had to be “genuinely seeking work” and not travelling abroad. The legality of this change was challenged by a variety of organisations and politicians.

As a result, 85 people who had payments stopped are set to have them reinstated.

On August 5, President Michael D Higgins signed into law the Social Welfare (Covid-19) (Amendment) Act 2020. This placed PUP on a statutory footing, along with new eligibility criteria that in order to be entitled to receive the payments, recipients must be genuinely seeking work.

Welfare chiefs have yet to address concerns raised more than two weeks ago by Mr Doyle.

"I don’t have any update as we are still waiting to receive a response from the Department of Social Welfare,” he said. 

One of his biggest concerns is whether benefits inspectors are sourcing information on prospective passengers from other sources that “allow a targeting of individuals” for payment cancellation without any interaction with an inspector at a port or airport.

Before the Data Protection Commission launches any investigation, it has to decide whether or not there may have been “an extremely serious” data breach.

It will also have to decide whether there is an indication of “a systemic failing within the organisation in question”.

The Free Legal Advice Centre (FLAC) is still concerned about the checks at ports and airports.

“Our position on that hasn’t changed,” said chief executive Eilis Barry.

“Welfare inspectors have to have reasonable grounds before they can approach people. Approaching a whole plane-load of people would not seem to comply with that.

“Some sort of investigation has to be ongoing before questions are asked, not just if someone happens to be in a queue. We are dismayed that the criteria that PUP recipients must be genuinely seeking work has been given a legislative basis.

“That provision was, in our view, rushed through in the Dáil without proper consultation, without a proper risk assessment as to who is going to impact or who is going to disentitle.

“There needs to be more transparency about enacting provisions that impact on people where there are such serious consequences.” 

A spokesperson for the Department of Social Protection said there is ongoing engagement with the Office of the Data Protection Commission.

The spokesperson refused to clarify if it is still carrying out the checks at ports and airports and how many more PUPs have been stopped since July 28. “The department does not comment in relation to ongoing operations," said the spokesperson.