The fraudulent claims were the largest and longest-running cases of welfare fraud in the history of the State.

The Department aims to save €530 million by tackling fraud over the next four years.

The couple claimed rent allowance to pay off a mortgage that the husband got under a false name.

46-year-old Richard Burbridge committed the offences while operating a courier contract for the Courts Service.

There have been 4,859 reports received by the department since 18 April, compared to 3,322 in the same period last year.

Sinn Féin has called on the government to end this “dishonest welfare fraud campaign”.

The claims were made by a former department inspector today.

The provision is included in the Social Welfare Bill 2017, which was published today.

Carol Clarke claimed welfare payments under her sister’s name for 17 years.

The ‘Welfare Cheats Cheat Us All’ campaign is designed to encourage reporting of suspected or known social welfare fraud.

He’s expected to appear in court in the next few hours.

There was also problems with HSE procurement and payments to farmers.

The organisation’s director general said Burton’s anti-fraud programme makes a concerning link between overpayments and fraud and creates potential for people making repayments to fall into destitution.

The Immigrant Council of Ireland wants Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton to outline safeguards against racial profiling in crackdown on welfare fraud.

The rollout of a new Public Services Card will mean new technology to ensure claimants are who they claim to be.

The Department of Social Protection has been cracking down on the number of prisoners who claim social welfare benefits while in jail.

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The Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed welcomes Fergus O’Dowd’s assurance that welfare rates will not be cut.

Dept of Social Protection says new cards will combat fraud by making it harder for people to use false identities to claim payments.

The initiative could save the State €625 million by next year, and has already seen some people’s payments stopped.

Savings of nearly €345 million have been made so far this year as a result of more than 350,000 reviews of social welfare claims. The numbers of people making anonymous reports is on the increase.

It has been revealed that the current crackdown on social welfare fraud has already yielded millions of euro in savings. With an entire new fraud unit to be established, we’re asking you: Is the crackdown a good idea or is it targeting the vulnerable?

Five people were arrested this morning in Dublin as part of an ongoing investigation into fraudulent welfare claims.

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The Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton said there would be “concerted and active policing of the hidden economy sector.”

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