Department will check on some Covid-19 enhanced illness benefit recipients, states C&AG

The enhanced illness benefit requires the claimant to have at least one paid qualifying social insurance contribution in the four weeks immediately prior to claiming payment. File Picture

People deemed to be at "high risk" of receiving irregular or unwarranted enhanced illness benefit will be subject to analysis by the Department of Social Protection, while €18m of the temporary Covid-19 wage subsidy scheme paid out was due for recovery at the end of last July.

It comes at the State's financial watchdog, the Comptroller & Auditor General, said the required recent PRSI contribution history of claimants was not checked before the claim was put into payment, "giving rise to a risk of irregular payment where claimants did not meet the eligibility conditions".