Government saves €22m in child benefit crackdown

THE Government has cracked down on more than 2,200 claimants wrongly receiving child benefit in the past six years, saving an estimated €22 million in the process.

In all these cases, the Department of Social and Family Affairs launched investigations after information letters sent to each claimant’s address were returned undelivered.

The department routinely issues mailshots to claimants to inform them of their entitlements or of changes in social welfare schemes.