Applications are being sought from gardaí in a number of locations around the country, including Dundalk, to work undercover alongside the Special Investigations Unit to help crack down on welfare cheats.
The Department of Social Protection is looking for 40 officers from around to country to help tackle the problem of fraudsters ripping off the State.
The officers – some of whom will be based in Dundalk – will be targetting social welfare fraudsters, who cost the State millions each year.
Applications are being sought in Dundalk, Dublin, Longford, Monaghan, Letterkenny, Navan, Galway, Sligo, Cork and Limerick.
A Department of Social Protection spokeswoman told The Irish Mirror that while there were currently no gardaí assigned to the trial, the department “worked very closely” with officers on checkpoints and other operations.
Checks have been taking place at airports and ports since 2012 as part of a bid to stop welfare tourists collecting benefits to which they are no longer entitled.
The scheme has seen the authorities discover just under 130 cases during the past 18 months.
Last December, Minister Joan Burton said these efforts had already saved the State around €1.35million.
Last year gardaí were much more visible around the local dole office and questioned many people as they came and went before and after collecting benefits.
Figures released late last year showed there had been a dramatic increase in anonymous tip-offs over suspected benefit fraud, with more than 21,000 reports in 2013.
The increase – up from just 1,044 during 2008 – highlighted the extent of the cultural shift towards the fraud problem during recent years.
The majority of reports related to people allegedly working while claiming benefits – some 8,350.
Others were concerned with allegations that people claiming lone parent benefit were cohabiting with partners and that people living outside Ireland were receiving other payments.
Source: Gardaí launch major crackdown on social welfare cheats (Irish Daily Mirror)
