Number of welfare fraud cases sent for prosecution halves in a decade

The number of welfare fraud cases sent for prosecution has more than halved over the past decade.

The Department of Social Protection sent just 76 cases to the Chief State Solicitor’s Office last year. That was down from 170 in 2017, according to figures released under Freedom of Information.

The figure has picked up again this year, however, with 85 cases submitted to the office in the first nine months of 2026.

The department said it had an average success rate of 88 per cent in cases concluded in the past 10 years. That included cases dealt with under the Probation Act alongside convictions resulting in fines, prison sentences or other sanctions.

Separately, gardaí referred more than 400 other suspected fraud cases to the Director of Public Prosecutions since 2019. However, the number of Garda referrals has also fallen, with 72 cases reported in 2024 compared with 26 last year.

A further 26 cases were referred to the DPP by An Garda Síochána in the first nine months of this year.

Frauds investigated included claiming of pensions after someone had died, individuals receiving benefits while in employment and producing forged documents.

Case numbers fell sharply during the Covid-19 pandemic, with just 30 cases sent for prosecution by the department in 2021.

There were also 52 cases referred to the DPP by An Garda Síochána in 2021, which fell to 38 in 2022, and just 31 in 2023.

The department said its Special Investigation Unit was exclusively focused on investigating and detecting social welfare fraud.

It said members of An Garda Síochána had worked on secondment with the department since 2014.

An information note said: “In the course of investigation of alleged social welfare fraud, cases may be uncovered that are not suitable for summary disposal by the Minister in the District Court.

“These more serious cases will be referred by seconded gardaí to the Director of Public Prosecutions, for instruction on a prosecution on indictment in the Circuit Court.”

Asked about the figures, a spokesperson said the department was committed to “ensuring that only those who are eligible receive welfare and other payments”.

They said: “The focus is on more complex and intensive cases and, for that reason, as well as the legal process and the availability of resources, the number of prosecutions initiated by the department and by seconded members of An Garda Síochána will fluctuate from year to year.”