Burton to save €625m in welfare fraud crackdown

A WAVE of measures aimed at cracking down on social welfare abuse will include more inspections of payments, tougher penalties for fraudulent claims and a targeting of the hidden economy.

Social Protection Minister Joan Burton pledged to make savings of €625 million in her department next year through the anti-fraud control plan.

The Government is under pressure from the EU and IMF as part of its bailout commitments to cut back spending. Ms Burton’s department alone must make savings of €750m this year out of its total €21 billion spend.