Donegal nurse fined in court over €29,000 carer’s allowance overpayment

A nurse who claimed more than €29,000 in carer's allowance she was not entitled to has been fined €1,000.

Philomena Doherty appeared at Letterkenny District Court charged with the offence.

She was charged that she contravened article 188 of the Social Welfare Regulations, 2007 in that she failed to notify the Minister for Social Protection of a change in her circumstances which affected her right to carer's allowance when she commenced employment with the Western health and Social Care Trust.

The charge is contrary to Article 209 of the Social Welfare (Consolidated Claims, Payments and Control) Regulations 2007.

Ms Doherty, 52, had claimed a total of €29,692 between dates in 2017 and 2024 while looking after her late mother.

The court was told that Ms Doherty, of Milltown, Convoy, would have been allowed to work for eighteen and a half hours and claim this carer's allowance.

However, Lorraine McBrearty, an investigator with the Department of Social Protection, told the court that Ms Doherty had been working for 15 hours a week as a nurse with the Western Health and Social Care Trust.

Donegal state solicitor, Mr Kieran Dillon, told the court that Ms Doherty had no previous convictions of any kind and that she was going through some personal difficulties at the time.

Solicitor for the accused, Mr Frank Dorrian, said that Ms Doherty was caring for her mother and that she had sadly passed away since.

He said his client was working as an agency nurse in Northern Ireland.

He put it to investigator Ms McBrearty that his client had crossed the line "a bit" but was not "spectacularly across it" adding it was a "modest enough encroachment" with the additional six and a half hours per week.

Ms McBrearty agreed but added that they were the rules and that Ms Doherty was over the conditions for the scheme.

Mr Dorrian said that his client would not have got the allowance if she was not caring for her mother.

He added that although his client initially denied she had beached the rules, this was a "reflexive action."

He added that she was now hoping to repay the sum of €50 per week to the Department of Social Protection towards the overpayment of €29,692.

"We know it will take a long time (to pay it back) but she did not deliberately set out to defraud the Department," he said.

Judge Emile Daly said she accepted the facts and the plea which had been entered.

She added that the rules are in place for all social welfare recipients but added that when the rules are breached, other people who may be in a more grave need of these funds may not be able to avail of them.

She fined Ms Doherty €1,000 and allowed her six months to pay.