The Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection is currently issuing letters to more than 60,000 recipients of the contributory State pension, who will receive an increase for a qualified adult. The letter includes a declaration to be signed by the recipient and returned to the Department's control unit within 21 days. The declaration states the undersigned has disclosed truthful information to the Department and that if any information is untrue, he or she will be required to repay the Department or face prosecution. The letter has caused massive upset, panic and fear among some of the most vulnerable people within the State and does not reflect accurately its intended purpose. It does not state there is any flexibility in the timeframe and has caused massive fear. It highlights the poor communication from the Department to people in receipt of social welfare.

Will the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection communicate properly with the 60,000 vulnerable citizens in receipt of the payment, and ensure they are aware of the flexibility and of the true purpose of the letter?

The true purpose of the letter forms part of the control measures we carry out annually to ensure that the limited budget goes to the people who are entitled to receive it. If there is a difficulty with the wording of the letter I will certainly look at it but there is no flexibility. The 21 days allowed to respond to the letter is outlined in the letter-----

I got a response from the Minister's Department stating flexibility can be provided if there is a difficulty in replying within the requested timeframe.