UK-based families are fraudulently claiming child benefit here by claiming they live at Irish addresses, Extra.ie has learned.
The families fly into Ireland to register their newborn’s birth, falsely alleging they have had a home birth here before attending a postnatal appointment at a HSE clinic.
They then return to the UK and pocket the child benefit while ignoring follow-up developmental checks for their baby.
Extra.ie understands a number of these cases have come to light in recent weeks as Tusla conducts 42,000 welfare checks on children following the deaths of both Kyran Durnin and Daniel Aruebose.
Daniel Aruebose. Pic: An Garda SÃochána
Fine Gael TD and chairperson of the Oireachtas Social Protection Committee, John Paul O’Shea, said this week that fraud in our social welfare system has ‘no place’.
The Cork TD told Extra he would be raising the matter before the committee. An informed source told Extra that inquiries have discovered child benefit payments being paid out for families who have never lived in Ireland.
‘Basically, UK-based families use a friend’s address or a made-up address. They then register the baby here, claiming they have had a home birth.
‘The baby is brought to a clinic for a postnatal appointment, but follow-up calls to arrange appointments with public health nurses go unattended.’
The families make excuses for not being available that simply ‘drag on’.
‘Now the State is reviewing cases of children, we’ve learned that the children were never really here.’
Extra understands that Tusla and gardaà have informed the Department of Social Protection about several such cases in recent weeks. One case involves a baby who had not been seen in two years.
When registered, the parents provided a bogus Tallaght address. They then claimed they were living in Galway when the HSE tried to make contact for routine developmental checks for their baby.
The Child and Family Agency was eventually informed, and when the family continued avoiding Tusla, it reported the child missing to gardaÃ.
It was at this point that investigators discovered the family was living in Leeds, England, and had never lived in Ireland.
An informed source said: ‘It turns out they were never here. They all live in Leeds. They flew into Shannon and out of Dublin in 24 hours to register the baby, sign on and see the nurse. For two years, they were fraudulently claiming welfare.’
Kyran Durnin. Pic: An Garda SÃochána
The source told how there was little surprise child benefit payments for both Kyran Durnin and Daniel Aruebose continued to be paid for the children years after they were both last seen alive.
‘The system is open to abuse. We have children dead and parents still claiming welfare. We have children who were never really here and their parents claiming children’s allowance. In reality, it has been happening with criminals for years.
‘Gardaà would catch criminals who provided addresses in the North or UK and we would tell the Department of Social Protection and they’d stop paying.
‘In recent times, the Department of Social Protection has been informed of cases by gardaà and Tusla, but the payments have continued. It is very frustrating,’ they said.
The source said the problems with the welfare system are ‘substantial’.
‘Word spread recently among communities in the UK how easy it is to fraudulently claim Irish welfare. The border access between the UK and Ireland has, of course, facilitated this.’
Last year, we revealed how child benefit and welfare payments for tragic Kyran Durnin continued to be paid when the child was actually missing.
Gardaà believe he was murdered two years before he was finally reported missing.
A source familiar with the investigation into Kyran’s killing told how officials at the State Child and Family Agency believed claims the boy had moved out of the jurisdiction and his welfare and child benefits continued to be paid by the Department of Social Protection.
Meanwhile, in the case of Daniel Aruebose, whose remains were found last week in a Dublin wasteland four years after he died, it has emerged that children’s allowance also continued to be paid.
UK-based families are fraudulently claiming child benefit here by claiming they live at Irish addresses, Extra.ie has learned. Pic: Shutterstock
His disappearance only came to light when an application was made for ongoing child benefit to the Department of Social Protection.
Gardaà were notified in August by Tusla that his whereabouts were unknown.
A source remarked: ‘Is it any wonder the State is losing track of children when we are paying out for children who were flown in and out of the country to claim welfare? The system is open to abuse.’
Earlier this year, Cork NorthWest TD John Paul O’Shea asked Social Protection Minister Dara Calleary for a breakdown of child benefit paid to persons living in countries other than Ireland.
He confirmed over 3,000 people not living in Ireland are claiming child benefit for over 6,000 children. It means at least €866,000 in child benefits is being paid to children living overseas each month. This adds up to €10.4m over the course of a year.
In total, people in 22 countries receive these payments. The highest number of claims is from citizens of the United Kingdom living here, with 1,310 people getting the payment for 2,695 children.
This week, in response to queries, a spokesperson for the Department of Social Protection said it is committed to ensuring that only those people who are eligible receive social welfare payments.
‘A range of verification processes are employed to validate and verify the information provided by an applicant when making a claim. In addition, claims in payment, including child benefit are also subject to regular review where the claimant must prove that they remain eligible for the scheme.’
A spokesperson for Tusla told Extra: ‘Where the agency has a concern that illegal activity has taken place, we refer it to the relevant authority.’
No response was received from the Garda Press Office.