Ó’Broin says Varadkar launched a “grossly and deliberately misleading campaign” against welfare fraud
MINISTER for Social Protection Leo Varadkar launched a “grossly and deliberately misleading campaign” against welfare fraud based on a “lack of evidence”, according to Dublin Mid-West Sinn Féin TD Eoin Ó Broin.
Speaking to Pat Kenny on Newstalk this morning, Deputy Ó Broin referred to a recent report in the Examiner, in which the Department of Social Protection admitted it does not know how many allegations of welfare fraud submitted by the public lead to the detection of an offense.
The campaign aimed at cutting down on benefit scammers was launched by Varadkar and promotes the department’s online and telephone fraud-reporting services.
However, Deputy Ó Broin wants to “see evidence” after the department said it does not track whether reports by the public were of merit and helped detect a fraud.
“It is a factually incorrect campaign,” said Deputy Ó Broin, who said there is “no logic” to the department’s performance indicator.
He continued: “I don’t believe Leo Varadkar’s launch has anything to do with overpayments. He is involved in a high profile campaign (for Taoiseach) and wants to look tough. What he should have said is we have an issue with overpayments. Fraud should be tackled on evidence not sensationalist campaigns. But that wouldn’t have got the headlines.”
Figures released to the Examiner reveal that more than one in four reports of fraud by members of the public lacked enough information to warrant further investigation.
Members of the public made 54,066 allegations of welfare fraud in the three years up to and including 2016.
Of these, 15,869 had “insufficient information to commence review of entitlement or entitlement would not be affected by information received.”