194 dole-cheat cases remain open

Social Protection Minister Joan Burton has confirmed that her department has 194 cases still open in an initiative targeting dole cheats which has generated €21m for the State to date.

In a written Dáil response to Fianna Fail’s Michael McGrath, Ms Burton confirmed that since October 2012, full recoveries have been made on 503 cases investigated under Operation Dirt (Deposit Interest Retention Tax).

She said a further 194 cases are in varying degrees of the recovery process. Ms Burton confirmed that her department has recovered more than €140,000 from one dole cheat. This was the highest individual amount recovered, with the 10 highest amounts ranging down from that figure to €68,500.