Prosecutions Cases involving abuse of the system are scrutinised with a view to taking legal proceedings. Prosecutions are taken against employers who fail to carry out their statutory obligations and persons who defraud the social welfare payments system.
Prosecutions can be either by summary or indictment proceedings.
Civil proceedings are taken to facilitate the recovery of scheme overpayments or collection of PRSI arrears. Such cases are only contemplated, however, where it has been established that the debtor has sufficient means to discharge the debt. The total amount of overpayments assessed in these cases was 411,510. The results of the court cases and the penalties imposed are given in the following table. There was no civil case finalised during the year.