Committee of Public Accounts to examine 2022 Appropriation Account of Department of Social Protection, Social Insurance Fund and related matters

The meeting at 9.30am in Committee Room 3 of Leinster House will be joined by the Comptroller and Auditor General, Mr Seamus McCarthy, and officials from the Department of Social Protection, led by the Secretary General and Accounting Officer, Mr John McKeon. The Committee will also examine the following chapters from the C&AG’s 2022 Report:

• Chapter 13 - Regularity of Social Welfare Payments;
• Chapter 14 - Ex-gratia Payments of €1.4m to Social Welfare Branch Managers;
• Chapter 15 - Raising Social Welfare Overpayments;
• Chapter 16 - Recovery of Welfare Overpayments;
• Chapter 17 - Actuarial Review of the Social Insurance Fund.

During the afternoon session, beginning at 1.30pm, the Committee will consider correspondence and other business of the Committee.

The Committee has highlighted the classification of employment for contribution purposes and financial implications of the misclassification of workers as an area of interest.

Committee Cathaoirleach Deputy Brian Stanley said: “The Department of Social Protection is responsible for the provision of income supports and employment services and directly funds a wide range of employment programmes and citizen advisory services. The 2022 appropriation account for Vote 37 records gross expenditure of €12.8 billion.

“The Social Insurance Fund receives Pay Related Social Insurance (PRSI) contributions collected by Revenue and in turn funds social insurance benefits related to retirement, illness, incapacity, unemployment, maternity, and bereavement. The Committee will be examining Chapter 17 of the C&AG’s Annual Report, which discusses the latest actuarial review of the Social Insurance Fund. The review projects that, in the absence of any changes to PRSI rates, there will be an increasing annual shortfall in the Fund from 2034 to 2076 and Exchequer subventions will be required in the long-term to meet ongoing expenditure requirements.

“A key area of interest is the classification of workers for PRSI contributions. The Committee will be questioning the Department about the implications of the recent Supreme Court judgement in the Karshan case, which clarified the criteria for determining whether someone is employed or self-employed, and seeking answers about the financial implications of this judgement and the steps being taken to ensure workers are not being misclassified.

“Other areas of interest include non-compliant procurement totalling just under €49 million and the controls in place regarding social welfare payments.

“The Committee looks forward to examining these issues and related matters with Mr McKeon and his colleagues from the Department of Social Protection.”

The meeting in Committee Room 3 can be viewed live on Oireachtas TV.

PAC is a standing committee of Dáil Éireann which focuses on ensuring public services are run efficiently and achieve value for money. Further information on the role and remit of the Committee can be found here.

Committee proceedings can also be viewed on the Houses of the Oireachtas Smartphone App, available for Apple and Android devices.