Welfare inspectors checking if widows are alone

In the first ever crackdown of its kind, social welfare inspectors have carried out home visits on widows to check if they have remarried.

There are currently 115,000 widows and widowers receiving pensions at a cost of €1.3 billion per year. However, those who have remarried or are cohabiting with a new partner are not entitled to the payment.

In the first ever fraud and error survey of the payment, social welfare inspectors ...