21,000 tip-offs to social welfare fraud hotline

The Department of Social Protection received more than 21,000 anonymous tip-offs from the public last year regarding suspected cases of social welfare fraud.

A dedicated phoneline and website facility is provided by the department for individuals to submit anonymous reports of suspected abuses by social welfare claimants.

Some 21,088 tip-offs were received from members of the public last year, triggering investigations into cases of suspected fraud.