Statute of Limitations on Social Welfare Collecting Overpayments

donutheadhomer

I overheard someone in cafe this morning saying that they recently made a claim for Sicial Welfare Benefits and that the SW are trying to recover an overpayment made to them from 9 or 10 years back.
Surely the onus is on SW to collect this promptly and 9/10 years is not really in line with Natural Justice. From what I overheard the sums involved are pretty small €200-€300.
Is there any Statute of Limitations to prevent them pursuing people indefinitely.

Victor

I would have thought 6 years, but depending on the amount, if it was large enough (not €200) they could be prosecuted with no statute of limitations.

What they may find is that because they received an overpayment back then, that any current payment is being withheld.

donutheadhomer

Victor wrote: »

I would have thought 6 years, but depending on the amount, if it was large enough (not €200) they could be prosecuted with no statute of limitations.

What they may find is that because they received an overpayment back then, that any current payment is being withheld.

What I was thinking is that any Statute would only apply to a prosection. There is nothing stoping Social Welfare from collecting/attempting to collect without recourse to the courts

MagicSean

Fraud and Theft are both indictable offences so there is no limit on prosecutions.

dermot_sheehan

MagicSean wrote: »

Fraud and Theft are both indictable offences so there is no limit on prosecutions.

Statute of limitations only applies to instigating proceedings and not to an offset which is a defence.

Deductions from current welfare entitlements is an offset.

Nolanger

MagicSean wrote: »

Fraud and Theft are both indictable offences so there is no limit on prosecutions.

A lot of Social Protection overpayments are due to Departmental errors rather than fraud.

Kristopherus

Was there not a change in one of the recent Budgets (06,07,08) so that Revenue & other statutory payment bodies could investigate & claim any arrears/overpayments by going back a max of 10years?

Our man in Havana

Kristopherus wrote: »

Was there not a change in one of the recent Budgets (06,07,08) so that Revenue & other statutory payment bodies could investigate & claim any arrears/overpayments by going back a max of 10years?

No. There are no time limits on Revenue or SW chasing money.

hawthorne

Just resurrecting this old thread...

I had an argument with a friend over Christmas. It was about social welfare fraud and when does social welfare fraud 
become statute-barred.
I read somewhere that it is 60 years. 
Suppose a 20 year old man we call John Bullshitter is on a means tested jobseekers allowance payment. He gets a 
cash inheritance of 25000 euros. He does not declare his change of means to SW and puts the money secretly on an 
English bank account for a year or so and slowly uses it all up while still being on a means tested payment.
Nearly 60 years later a combined Revenue/SW inspection team comes across digitally stored data showing 
John Bullshitters hidden means from years ago.
Suppose Bullshitter is still alive and on a state pension.
Question: Would SW still be able to prosecute John Bullshitter and claim the overpayment from 60 years back?

Victor

It wouldn't be 60 years, there would be no limit.

60 years would be problematic. People are entitled to justice and short of the most serious of crimes, having people account for their actions of 60 years ago, with potentially no records or recollection would be contrary to justice.

TooTired123

In the case of both SW and Revenue if a money is owed it is owed to the citizens of the state, and it doesn’t matter how the debt came about, the state has to be made whole again. Sometimes it’s €20 sometimes it’s €200000. It doesn’t matter. You got it even though you weren’t entitled to it and it has to be returned.

Losty Dublin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118418983#Comment_118418983

Some years ago I was made aware of a woman who was caught by the Department having claimed Deserted Wife's allowance for 28 years, resulting in a debt owed of well over €130,000. You could imagine the outcry from the general public if a statute bar ensured that the Department could only chase up a few years of same ☺️