Coughlan ‘vigilant’ on welfare fraud
Last year the department saved €283 million thanks to detailed anti-fraud investigations and the minister wants to stamp out all illegal benefit payments, a Social and Family Affairs spokesperson said yesterday.
The savings figure was a €14m increase on the previous year and the department’s fraud section has upped its efforts again to catch those claiming illegal payments.
“This is something the minister is really anxious about and she’s asked all officials to be vigilant.
The staff will look at areas where there might have been a lull and redouble their efforts to see if there’s anything illegal there,” the spokesperson said.
The statement comes after it emerged this week that a man claimed €95,000 over 15 years in dole and rent allowance payments on behalf of his dead brother.
Kiernan Bellew’s brother died in 1960 but he continued to use the deceased’s name to sign on in Dublin where he received between €300 and €500 a month.
It’s estimated fraud payments cost the State €43.3m between 1998 and 2000 and there have been around 1,500 prosecutions in the last five years.
The social welfare bill for 2002 was over €9 billion and more than 925,000 people got a weekly payment. More than 500,000 families received child benefit during the year and more than €1.4 million people got payments for electricity, travel and phone rental.
The majority of savings were made in unemployment payments where 118.5m was prevented from falling into the wrong hands after the department investigated 341,000 claims.
The reviews resulted in 167 cases going to court and five people were given prison sentences.
A further 28 received suspended sentences, 78 were fined and 32 got the Probation Act. The remainder were struck out, dismissed or bound to the peace.
