overseas fraudsters claiming benefits in Ireland

[micmclo]

I don't know if the story about the clock is true

But I do remember this story

1/10/2007 - 07:41:13
The Health Service Executive is expected to suspend more electricians at a number of hospitals today as part of a row over who changes the lightbulbs.

The HSE wants bulbs to be replaced by non-electricians, but the TEEU says this is an electrician's work and should remain so.

The dispute is affecting hospitals in Cork, Kerry, Waterford, Kilkenny, Carlow and Tipperary.

A number of electricians have already been suspended from work and more are expected to be suspended today.


Read more: [broken link removed]

[broken link removed]

Bit of a mess, I forgot how it got sorted in the end
But getting offtopic I think

 

[micmclo]

And do you think that the garage owners who receive €18,000 HSE cheques for taxis from immigrants are lying?

Immigrants who arrive in Ireland have their own money. Some have plenty and some not so much.
If you were fleeing Africa without a cent, you would't make it to Ireland on your own.
I'm sure there are some people in Mosney with plently of money in bank accounts. Nothing wrong with this at all. Maybe they will setup a business some day.

Some buy cars with cheques. It doesn't mean they are HSE cheques.
I think the garage owners business is struggling and they probably face losing it. So try to talk the talk and show how successful they are, they deflect it with stories.
Nobody wants to go around and declare their business is failing and they are a loser. Better to go around saying something else

 

[Complainer]

And do you think that the garage owners who receive €18,000 HSE cheques for taxis from immigrants are lying?

Have you seen the cheques? Do you have a copy of one of them? Could you do an FOI request to get evidence of these payments from the HSE?

 

[Leper]

I think many believe in the urban myths with refugees buying cars at the expense of the HSE etc. Let's be fair here - this is not happening. Somebody else mentioned buggies being dumped at bus-stops and new one being provided in lieu by the HSE. This ain't happening either. But, I wish I had a euro for every time I had been informed of the alleged foregoing.

But, let's get to the nub of the original point "Fraudsters claiming benefits in Ireland" - There is no doubt that this is happening. I see it myself people arriving in our airports signing-on, queueing at the post-office and jetting out later that day or soon after. This is real and the perpetrators are getting away too easily.

Recently, I read of a purge in some state of Canada where these Fraudsters were targeted by the Welfare Investigators who prosecuted, hassled and virtually ended the fraud. We are criticising the public service continuously on this and other forums. Perhaps we need to back them up and let them hound the Fraudsters? Of course, when they do, we're the first to shout "Discrimination etc"

 

[MrMan]

I think in fairness that we can all agree that there is social welfare fraud happening since way back when and it is a major drain on resources. I can't give Complainer written sources, but i have dealt with many cases first hand and I do know of enough cases personally to understand that we can't ignore it if we want to improve on this mentality.

As for the public service waste, I think this is an issue that is commonly overblown and usually ill informed and I think Baz's post falls into the latter category, no offence intended.
There are jobs to be done in the public service and just like the private sector there are wasters and there are also excellent workers, take the rough with the smooth as they say.
When it comes to savings overall the only problem i have with these debates is that one person says cut child welfare and another says we should look at x,y and z first. I think everything should be put into the pot and look at where we can cut spending on every sector and possibly work backwards.

 

[Leper]

I remember some years ago we had a job on a building site in a Gaeltacht and my men and I were working there with several Irish people from some sub-contractors.

A rather good-looking cailín came on site, smiling, flirting frivolously, full of talk (as Gaeilge agus Béarla). She sold loads of tickets for some local raffle. The men could not get enough of her ticéidí.

Guess what! She was working with the Dept of Social Welfare. The men were caught working while drawing Unemployment Benefit (and wait for it!) and in their own hand writing where they supplied their names, addresses and telephone numbers on the tickets.

Glad to say, that none of my employees were scratchin' for dole at the time. But, it was a nice "collar."