Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

The sad reality is that social welfare fraud exists. Every euro lost through such fraud represents money taken from the purses and pockets of those who really need social welfare support. I am shocked that some Deputies appear to find the notion of social welfare fraud something which should just be condoned and almost endorsed. That is entirely unacceptable. We are in the middle of a serious economic crisis and, unfortunately, vast numbers of people are unable to find work. Many individuals are working on a part-time basis at present. The notion that defrauding the social welfare system is acceptable is entirely and utterly objectionable to me, as Minister.

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