Benefit fraud investigations saved the government €10.5 million last year, Social Policy Minister John Dalli said yesterday as he pledged even tighter controls and more means-testing.
The crackdown by the Social Security Department involved some 3,800 cases.
The minister was speaking about his ministry's work over the past year.
"These are all resources that can be used by those who really need them," he said.
He announced the setting up of a means-testing unit within his ministry, manned by "competent and capable people", which will carry out a proper analysis of the revenue of anyone being considered for social benefits. Although different departments dealing with people in need would retain their autonomy in deciding who qualified for social benefits, they would all use the certification issued by the means-testing unit, he said.
"We want a controlled and professionally-developed system."
Work is also underway to set up a coordinated inspectorate, manned by trained people, to take over the inspection needs of different departments in a bid not to duplicate work.
Mr Dalli pledged the restructuring of social services in a way that would target people who were really in need, stressing that the practices developed some 50 years ago were not necessarily still relevant today.
"This does not mean adding to what we have but looking deeper to ensure that we are providing the right products for those in need," he said, adding that it was imperative to ensure that every citizen was able to live a decent life away from poverty.
He also touched on the issue of rent, in the wake of the reform still being debated in Parliament. Again, he underscored the importance of providing rented accommodation for those in need, adding that it was important to eradicate the sense of entitlement with some tenants feeling they could still claim a property even if their financial situation improved drastically.
"This is an abuse of people's public funds," he said in reference to publicly-owned buildings used by those who no longer need help.
Hammering in this point, he referred to government properties bought at 25 per cent of their value by people who then left them to their children, pointing out that the building of such units would have been paid through public funds and it was not right to give them out at "laughable prices".
Instead of building and giving homes away, he said the government should have residences that could be let out to different families over time.
"It is easy for everyone to make a shopping list of what they need and come to the government to get a free service. We need to eradicate the mentality that public funds are there for the taking because this threatens the country's sustainability," he said.