Civil servant convicted of fraudulently claiming overtime

A Kildare civil servant who fraudulently obtained €147,000 from the Department of Social and Family Affairs by claiming overtime he was not entitled to has been given a three-year suspended sentence.

Donal McBride, aged 57, from Cluain Dara, Easton Road in Leixlip had been working as a higher executive officer for 10 years and had been with the Department for 37 years when the fraud came to light.

He retired with a pension and has been paying 25% of that back to the department to make full restitution.

He pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to four charges of deception on dates between August 26, 2001 and April 6, 2007.