Newsroom
A recent report by the Audit Office has revealed significant weaknesses in how social benefits were administered by the Deputy Ministry of Social Welfare during 2022 and 2023. The review examined both financial management and whether proper procedures were followed in granting key benefits, including the Minimum Guaranteed Income (MGI), child allowance, support for low-income pensioners, and assistance for single-parent families.
The findings point to systemic issues in oversight and enforcement. In the case of the MGI in particular, authorities often failed to apply required measures aimed at helping recipients return to work. Many beneficiaries were not registered with employment services, were not referred to job opportunities in a timely manner, or remained on benefits for extended periods without proper reassessment of their ability to work.
The report also describes cases where payments continued despite incomplete or outdated applications. In some instances, critical information, such as residence status, employment situation, or household composition, was never properly verified. Temporary approvals were frequently extended without final decisions, allowing payments to continue unchecked.
More broadly, auditors identified structural problems within the system. Overlapping responsibilities between agencies, lack of coordination, and weak data-sharing mechanisms increased the likelihood of errors and duplicate payments. Authorities also struggled to obtain accurate financial data, including bank information and asset declarations, while inconsistencies between declared income and actual spending often went insufficiently investigated.
Several individual cases illustrate these shortcomings. One beneficiary received more than €62,000 over nearly nine years, including support for an adult dependent who was never registered for employment and may have been living abroad. In another case, a woman received benefits for over four years despite not being officially registered as unemployed and without undergoing any formal medical assessment, even though she was classified in the system as having a disability.
A third case involved a family from a non-EU country that received over €230,000 in various benefits over a 14-year period. Despite having the legal right to work, neither parent was employed, and job refusals were not penalized. Additionally, the family’s residence permits expired without verification, raising questions about their eligibility to continue receiving support.
The Audit Office stresses that while welfare payments are essential for protecting vulnerable groups, stronger safeguards are needed. It calls for a unified digital system, better coordination between services, stricter eligibility checks, and regular reassessments of beneficiaries.
The report concludes that social assistance should act as temporary support rather than a long-term substitute for employment, warning that the current system risks fostering dependency if reforms are not implemented.
