Welfare workers in €1.3m fraud probe

A social welfare worker is being investigated by gardaí after allegedly misappropriating €1m by way of payments to people who may not even exist.

The individual involved worked in the Department of Social Protection’s community welfare division and is suspended with pay while the investigation continues. The money was paid out over six years.

The case is one of three involving staff where €1.3m was allegedly illegally taken from public welfare funds over the past decade.