Samantha Cookes further remanded in custody over alleged social welfare fraud in Kerry

Samantha Cookes was arrested outside Tralee post office on Friday when she was due to collect a weekly disability allowance worth €232

Samantha Cookes at Tralee District Court on Saturday, where she appeared before a special sitting of the court. Picture: Domnick Walsh

A woman accused of defrauding the Department of Social Protection of almost €60,000 has been further remanded in custody.

Samantha Cookes made a short appearance via video link at a sitting of Tralee District Court on Wednesday.

Her solicitor Brendan Ahern said his client was not appealing Judge David Waters decision to refuse bail at the special sitting on Saturday and she was going to remain in custody.

However, Mr Ahern asked the matter be dealt with as a matter of urgency.

Judge Waters remanded Ms Cookes to July 30 next to appear again via video link. Directions from the Director of Public Prosecutions are awaited, the court was told.

Ms Cookes, of no fixed abode, was arrested outside Tralee post office on Friday when she was due to collect a weekly disability allowance worth €232, a special sitting of the court heard on Saturday.

She was charged on two counts of fraud worth €464 and she appeared before Judge David Waters, with further charges likely to be processed, according to gardaí.

She initially submitted a claim for supplementary welfare allowance in February 2020 on the basis she had Huntington's disease.

In September 2021, Ms Cookes submitted a disability allowance claim which was signed by a doctor.

After obtaining her medical records under Section 52, gardaí discovered the accused had told her doctor she was adopted and therefore could not prove she was previously diagnosed with Huntington’s and so the doctor signed her application in good faith.

Ms Cookes' claims she was "following doctor’s orders" and she was medically led to believe she has the disease.

During the course of the investigation, it was discovered she posed as a safety consultant under the names Jane Harris and Samantha Jade Williams, providing a company name that is a variation of a currently trading company.

Ms Cookes provided an invoice and was paid into her personal bank account.

Garda Raphael Liston, who has been investigating the allegations made against Ms Cookes since April 2024, gave evidence of arrest, charge and caution.

Objecting to her application for bail, Garda Liston told Judge David Waters Ms Cookes had a history of using multiple aliases, variations of her own name and her mother's, to hide her identity and has done so to cause financial and emotional damage to members of the community. He said her motives were not clear as she did not always financially benefit from them.

For the past 18 months, she has been living at an address in Tralee under the name Jade O’Sullivan and the court heard she was no longer welcome at that address.

Other aliases include Carrie Jade Williams, Jade O’Sullivan, Lucy Fitzwilliams, Jade Harris and Sadie Harris.

Garda Liston said he believed she was a flight risk as she is a UK citizen, has not forfeited her passport and has no family ties to Ireland. He added she posed a risk to the community and was likely to be further charged.

Ms Cookes told the judge she still believes she has Huntington's disease and has been suffering from neurological symptoms since 2019. She added her previously existing mental health issues had made it difficult for her to engage with services.

Representing Ms Cookes, Pat Mann argued the defendant was not in possession of a passport and she remained in the country even when she knew she was being investigated. She also agreed that she would swear an undertaking to stay in the area until the case is finished if granted bail.

Gardaí had tried to make an arrangement with Ms Cookes to question her before her arrest, but when she failed to respond to them, she was arrested outside the post office in Tralee where she went to collect her benefits.

Judge Waters refused bail as he said he was not satisfied any bail conditions would prevent Ms Cookes from trying to avoid the courts system.

Ms Cookes was granted legal aid.