Five welfare recipients were overpaid more than €200k

The Department of Social Protection said the estimated cost of overpayments discovered in 2021 had come to about €122m.

Five people were overpaid welfare of more than €200,000 by the Department of Social Protection last year.

The five were among about 70,000 people who received more than they were entitled to in 2021, costing the taxpayer an estimated €122m.

Just 10 welfare recipients shared more than €2.16m in overpayments, according to figures released by the department.

One individual was overpaid by €296,000 in jobseekers' allowance while another received disability allowance of €254,000 they were not entitled to.

A third person received €250,000 in overpayments through the jobseekers' allowance, while another got €219,000 in a widow or widower’s pension they should not have received.

Other overpayments included €207,000 to an individual through a non-contributory State pension.

Five other people were overpaid by between €185,000 and €192,000 in State pensions or basic supplementary welfare, according to data released under Freedom of Information.

The Department of Social Protection said the estimated cost of overpayments discovered in 2021 had come to about €122m.

However, it said some overpayments were the result of irregular payments over a more extended period of time and did not always relate to a single year.

€77m in overpayments recovered

The department also said it had recovered €77m in overpayments last year.

The amount of money paid out over and above what people were entitled to was significantly up in 2021 compared to 2020, when €99m was overpaid to about 72,000 people.

Of that, there were recoveries of about €75m but the department said  these figures were directly comparable as they often relate to payment recovered relating to previous years.

In 2019, €116m in overpayments were discovered by the department, relating to just under 69,000 people. In that year, the State recovered €82m in overpaid welfare.

For 2020, the largest single overpayment was €526,479 relating to payment of the State pension with five other cases involving more than €200,000 also discovered.

In 2019, the largest case uncovered related to overpayment of €234,438 in a carer’s allowance. There were nine other cases where the amount involved exceeded €180,000.

The Department of Social Protection said most people in receipt of welfare payments received only the money they were entitled to.

It said overpayments could occur where a person provides false or misleading information in their application or through an error made by them or by the department.

A spokesman said: “In 2020 [for example], the total value of overpayments — as a percentage of total scheme expenditure — was approximately 0.33%.” 

Liability to refund money

The department said anybody who was overpaid social welfare had a liability to refund the money and that welfare officials made every effort to recover those funds.

“Recovery is sought over a period without imposing undue financial hardship on the customer,” said the spokesman. 

The department will work with the customer and consider personal circumstances in determining a repayment plan.” 

In cases of fraudulent claims, it pursued all cases to ensure repayment of money, with the most severe cases brought before the courts.

its most recent cases saw 59-year-old Corkman Donal (Don) O’Callaghan claim more than €500,000 in pension payments for his late parents.

The fraud was only discovered when officials became suspicious about a special State payment due to mark his dead father’s 100th birthday.