Combating dole fraud - Good job, minister

MARY HANAFIN, the Minister for Social Welfare, is to be congratulated in her efforts to confront fraud within the system by ending the practice of paying unemployment entitlements directly into new claimants’ bank accounts.

She is doing this to ensure that people who no longer live in the country will not be able to make false claims. After an initial period of weeding out, it may be possible to return all claimants to the current system, which may be easier for the growing number of people who depend on it.

It is, of course, easy to confront the weakest in our society and any efforts that would confront fraud at other levels in society would be equally welcome.