A man in his thirties has been arrested and charged in relation to allegedly making fraudulent Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) claims while living in Asia.
Gardaí in Bandon, West Cork arrested the man on Wednesday following a probe in to a suspected fraudulent claim of PUP.
It is understood the man allegedly claimed in the region of €6,000 while living in southern Asia last year.
The man was arrested and taken to Bandon Garda station where he was held under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984. He has since been charged. He will appear before Bandon District Court on April 15th next.
Investigators
Meanwhile, investigators from the Department of Social Protection have been conducting a review of fraudulent PUP claims.
Officials had been concerned that such a hastily organised and widespread benefits programme could be open to abuse.
The Department is using investigative methods including desk based assessments, interviews and audits of PRSI records to check on claimants.
The Government has now paid more than €5.5 billion in PUP.
At its peak, more than 598,000 people were dependent on this income support, drawn from all employment sectors.
