Leo Varadkar: Social welfare fraud carries a serious cost

In these pages last week, Sinn Féin’s Eoin Ó Broin challenged Leo Varadkar’s figures on social welfare fraud, claiming they did not add up. Today, the Minister for Social Protection responds

Very few of us would hesitate to report a crime. The same approach should apply to the crime of welfare fraud.

Every euro saved is money that can be given to a person in genuine need, or handed back to the taxpayer from where it came. The total budget for the Department of Social Protection is €20 billion a year. Even at low levels, fraud carries a considerable cost to us all.

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