1. DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL
PROTECTION
Special Investigation Unit
and Control of Illicit Trade
Brian Kearney
Manager
Special Investigation Unit
Cork-Kerry-Limerick

2. Social Welfare ....is BIG
Business
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Expenditure €20 BILLION
1.4 MILLION weekly payments- .5 million
Child Benefit monthly
87 million payments in 2012
2m applications made in 2012
8.4m telephone calls answered
1 million control reviews carried out
7200 staff at 470 locations

3. Special Investigation Unit
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PREVENT –DETECT- DETER SOCIAL WELFARE FRAUD
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89 Social Welfare Inspectors working exclusively on fraud countrywide
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Black -Shadow – Grey- Hidden- Informal Economy -Social Welfare Fraud –
estimated cost 2.4%- 4.1% of social welfare budget
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Multi-agency Approach with Revenue/Gardaí/GNIB/NERA/National
Transport Authority/County Councils/Corporations etc.
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Data and Information Sharing with other Government Agencies
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Prosecutions

4. What a Social Welfare Inspector
can legally do
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Enter any place where she believes there is
employment
Require employer to produce records
Require attendance of employer
Interview all persons on premises
Require person interviewed to sign statement
Power to Require a person to produce documents or
information
Power to seize documents

5. Social Welfare Inspector Powers
on Road Checks & Airport Checks
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Power with Gardaí or customs (in uniform) to stop any
vehicle where the social welfare inspector reasonably
suspects is used in the course of employment or self
employment and
Power to question and make enquiries of any person in
the vehicle
Power to attend at any port or airport and where there
are reasonable grounds to question and make
enquiries of a person who is a passenger

6. MULTI AGENCY VEHICLE
CHECKS

7. ANTI FRAUD INITIATIVE 2011-2013
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“Social welfare fraud undermines public confidence in the
entire system as well as being unfair to other recipients of
social welfare payments, [and] taxpayers and businesses
[that] run on a legitimate basis”.
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Enforcement
Integrated response
Strong ties between public agencies.
Police the hidden economy,
Sanctions for perpetrators and recover lost revenue

8. SIU -WHAT WE DO!
Targeted Hidden Economy Projects
 Multi Agency Road Checks
 Identity Fraud Checks
 Data Matching
 Respond to Good Citizen Reports
 Share intelligence with other Government
Agencies and UK and EU agencies
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9. SIU -WHAT WE DO!
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OPERATION AIRSIDE
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OPERATION SITE
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OPERATION TRANSPORT
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LIFSTYLE AND ASSETS
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STREETSCAPES PROJECTS
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DATA MATCHING PROJECTS
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TARGETING ORGANISED FRAUD
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GOOD CITIZEN REPORTS
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SIU IS TARGET DRIVEN- SAVINGS (€70ml.) AND PROSECUTIONS (300)

10. Multi-agency Approach with
Revenue/Gardai/GNIB/NERA/NTA/CO COUNCILS
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Joint Investigation Units – with Revenue- Customs
Gardaí –MAVC’s-working with Garda Bureau of Fraud
Investigation – sharing intelligence- CAB
Garda National Immigration Bureau
National Employment Rights Agency
National Transport Authority Enforcement Team
County Council Waste Enforcement Officers
Regional Hidden Economy Working Groups

11. Multi Agency Co-operation
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Time is right for a multi agency approach
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Intelligence sharing, collaboration, joint operations,
data sharing
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Building networks and relationships
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Positive Public Perception

12. ONGOING DEVELOPMENTS
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New Public Service Card with Key security and identification features
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20 Gardaí added to the Special Investigation Unit in 2014
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Improved sharing of information and Data Matching between
Government Agencies – better technologies
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Targeting Internet Shopping and Business
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Raising Public Awareness of the effects of Illegal Trade- Social
Welfare Fraud

13. Thank You
Contact Brian.kearney@welfare.ie
 Visit www.welfare.ie
 Collaborate in stopping illegal trade
 By phone: (01) 6732123, (071) 9672648
or Lo-call: 1890 927999.
 By Post: Central Control Division, DSP,
Shannon Lodge, Carrick-on-Shannon, Co
Leitrim.
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