Social worker’s foster kids fraud cost State €100k

A judge is considering jailing a social worker after she put the names of children who were never in care on a HSE register in order to defraud the State of nearly €100,000.

Jennifer O’Driscoll aged 45 of St John’s Terrace, World’s End, Kinsale, Co Cork, pleaded guilty to 38 counts of theft and 42 counts of deception at North Lee Social Work Department, Blackpool, Cork, between May 2008 and January 2013.

Det Sgt Clodagh O’Sullivan said an investigation was launched in 2013 after a complaint was made by Tusla regarding payment for foster carers.

The fraud involved the carers being overpaid. Ms O’Driscoll would then contact themand request that that payment be returned to her. The foster carers handed over the money and never questioned Ms O’Driscoll’s honesty.

Nine foster carers and 23 children were embroiled in the investigation. Named children were placed on the list of children at risk even though they were never in care at all. Ms O’Driscoll generated paperwork to say a particular child was being placed with a foster family even though in reality there was no such placement.

She always blamed a fictitious officer deputising on maternity leave for the errors and would ask that the money be refunded in cash. She drove out to the home of the foster carers to collect it.

Defence barrister Sinéad Behan said €54,000 has been paid in compensation. Her client is looking for employment and gave an undertaking she would continue to pay off the debt. Ms Behan said her client is a divorced mother of two and her presence is pivotal to family arrangements. She lost her job arising out of her actions.

Ms Behan said her client was “deeply ashamed” and “very remorseful.”

Judge O’Donnabháin remanded Ms O’Driscoll in custody until her next court appearance on November 25. He said he was seriously considering a custodial sentence.