Annual Report 2007 - Dept. of Social and Family AffairsIs there any penalty for making a fraudulent claim? I have never heard of anyone getting done for this!
Pretty good success rate for the cases taken it seems!243 criminal cases were finalised in 2007 with the
following results:
Outcome Number
Fined 117
Imprisoned 12
Suspended Sentence 22
Community Service 7
Probation Act 53
Bound to the Peace 4
Adjourned/Struck out/dismissed 23
Withdrawn 2
Debt Paid/ Decree obtained 3
TOTAL 243
wasnt Mary Hannifan on the radio last week on this matter and she was saying that out of a sample of 2000 sw claimants something like 10% were found to be either living abroad or claiming through other false pretences.
All well and good but my question is WHY on earth did a situation exist where people can take advantage in the first place,
surely there are more than enough civil servants in the dept of social welfare to actually monitor the activities of sw claimants.
wasnt Mary Hannifan on the radio last week on this matter and she was saying that out of a sample of 2000 sw claimants something like 10% were found to be either living abroad or claiming through other false pretences.
Or perhaps bamboozle is simply mistaken? Since s/he doens't seem certain about what was said in the first place?I wonder was that "sample" all non-Irish nationals. I find it hard to believe that 1 in 10 of people claiming the dole don't actually live in the country!
Or perhaps bamboozle is simply mistaken? Since s/he doens't seem certain about what was said in the first place?
From my limited experience of claiming SW I witnessed builders vans pulling up outside the office to let the lads off the sign and claim. Guys would sign on dressed in their work clothes!
Fair enough. The post seemed to express some uncertainty about the specific of the report/comments.bamboozle was correct in the quote (meaning if not the exact words). Its 10% are living abroad or claiming through other false pretences.
I can't believe they would allow someone to sign on wearing a flurescent jacket or whatever!! Suerly this can't be true? If it is, that is a disgrace.
I wonder was that "sample" all non-Irish nationals. I find it hard to believe that 1 in 10 of people claiming the dole don't actually live in the country!
I wonder was that "sample" all non-Irish nationals. I find it hard to believe that 1 in 10 of people claiming the dole don't actually live in the country!
because it's a fact of life that people will find their way around any rule if they want to.
There are. There are many posts in this forum complainign about this "monitoring"! This particular "fraud" arose from the department treated SW claimants as human beings and trusting them not to abuse a system that does not montior them too closely. The problem is that because of this abuse, every SW claimant has now to suffer.
Have to say I'm a bit bemused at the apparent surprise expressed at these shenanigans - always regarded dole fraud as very widespead, brazen, and pretty much common knowledge?
When I was in college there was one guy who was was quite proud about the fact that he was registered as the English version of his name with a Dublin address as a college student but was claiming the dole using the Irish version of his name and his country address. So he got SW payments, and a government grant cheque, he had a cash in hand part time job, AND he was getting an education for free.
I remeber (back in the day) a lot of students in my year were also signing on. In fact it was quite regular to excuse your absence to your tutor by explaining you had to sign on this morning, and this was back when it was weekly signing.
Why? In theory, if your spouse is non-Irish, you bought a house ten years ago, you could have easily sold your house for a huge profit in recent years, moved to your spouse's country of origin where average wage is lower than the Irish SW payments, you could easily claim the dole (as an Irish) to supplement your income. I am sure that some of the cases are of such nature. Or, an Irish couple moving to Portugal for cheaper property and better weather. It's not impossible!
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