The Department of Social Security over the past year saved €10.5 million after it investigated 3,800 cases in connection with suspected benefit fraud, Social Policy Minister John Dalli said this morning.
Speaking at a press conference to present his ministry's annual report, Mr Dalli said the ministry was setting up an inspectorate to centralise investigations relating to social benefits.
The ministry was also creating a Means Testing Unit manned by 'capable and competent people' for proper analysis of people's assets whenever this was required. The certification by this unit would be used by all departments which used means testing, Mr Dalli said.
The minister, in a hard-hitting speech, said the mentality that public funds were there for the taking needed to be eradicated, because that would threaten the country's stability.
On rent reform, he said schemes were needed to promote growth of the rental market. At the same time, it was unfair that people who were granted residences as social housing continued to use those tenements even when their financial situation improved. This was abuse of the people's public funds.The government could not continue to build properties for those in need and there had to be a stock which could be used by different families over time. This was abuse of the people's public funds. Furthermore, government properties which were sold should not be transferred at 'laughable' prices because that too was an abuse.
In his speech Mr Dalli said there was a need to restructure social benefits to address them for those really in need. What was good 50 years ago might not necessarily be good today, while there were new needs, he said.
He underscored the importance to focus on the needs of families but said that did not exclude the need to support other forms of relationships.
MATER DEI HOSPITAL
The minister acknowledged bed space problems at Mater Dei Hospital and said the country could not continue to experience such problems. A projection had been made of what was needed in the coming decade and it was important to focus on specialised geriatric care.
He said 1,000 people were using the Outpatients Department every day and the government was tackling the issue, seeking the big picture including primary health care.
He also stressed the need to reform the government pharmaceutical service including the way purchases were made and the updating of the free medicines service.
He hoped that by the end of the year there would be a programme for waiting lists so that people could be given a specific maximum waiting time for surgery.