Man falsely claimed almost €283,000 in social welfare payments

A man who falsely claimed almost €283,000 in social welfare payments over the course of 13 years has been given time to get his affairs in order and attend his daughter’s Confirmation before beginning an 18-month term in prison.

John McDonagh (50), with an address in Dalton Park, Mullingar, County Westmeath, appeared before Mullingar Circuit Court, charged with 53 counts of social welfare fraud, under section 6 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud) Act 2001.

Judge Keenan Johnson heard evidence that the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) had received records from the Department of Social Protection relating to a significant number of Jobseekers Allowance payments made to Mr McDonagh between July 10, 2009, and August 2, 2022.

Accounts belonging to Mr McDonagh and his wife were shown to have combined lodgements of €390,000 between 2009 and 2021, as well as almost €430,000 in social welfare payments in the same date range.

In July 2022, gardaí accompanied Bureau officers to the address of Mr McDonagh to deliver a letter from a deciding officer outlining the issues that remained unaddressed regarding his means and social welfare payments.

However, the accused did not respond and, on July 22, 2022, the deciding officer disallowed social welfare payments because he had failed to make a declaration of means.

An overpayment of €282,881.20 was calculated by officers in the Department of Social Protection, the court heard, and in April 2024, a total of 53 charges were brought against the accused under section 6 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud) Act 2001.

Mr Cathal O’Braonáin, BL, for the state, informed the court that Mr McDonagh has seven previous convictions, including two for criminal damage in 2019, possession of drugs in 2015, holding a mobile phone while driving in 2014, violent disorder in 2008, possession of CS gas in 2006, and some minor public order convictions in 1995.

Ms Dara Foynes, senior counsel, for the defence, submitted in mitigation that her client had paid a total of €44,167 in May 2023, to cover an income tax debt from January 1, 2017, to December 31, 2020. Furthermore, a sum of €23,778.09 was paid to CAB towards his debts on July 4, 2023.

Ms Foynes accepted that “the court’s natural instinct” would be to “send out a message that this won’t be tolerated”, but highlighted that, in the absence of a guilty plea, there would be a “difficult, paper-heavy trial”.

Mr McDonagh had pleaded to a number of sample charges at the outset and fully pleaded on the second occasion in court, she said.

She said her client is making repayments “over and above” the statutory 15% of his current social welfare payments and carer’s allowance, and an increased debt repayment of €136.16 per week commencing in January of this year.

Mr McDonagh suffers from serious health difficulties and he received a “life-saving” operation last year, in which half his colon was removed. He suffers from chronic back pain as a result of sciatica, and has had previous issues with his gallbladder.

He is a carer for his father, since the death of his brother, and for his wife, who suffers with Crohn’s disease, epilepsy and depression-related conditions.

He is a father of five children, the youngest of whom will be making her Confirmation in the coming weeks.

Judge Johnson noted the early guilty pleas, but stressed that €282,881 was a “significant theft on the state” over a “significant length of time”.

“These offences are serious because we pride ourselves on being a welfare state and providing for those in need,” he said, adding that it “only works if people approach it in an honest fashion”.

“For the sake of the system itself, it’s important that the court sends a message that this sort of offending will carry significant sanctions.”

Mr McDonagh had caused “huge loss” to the state, with “a premeditation and planning, which damages the integrity of the welfare system”, he said, adding that there was “a certain irony” that the accused was still “reaping the benefits of the social welfare system despite having abused and stolen from it”.

He noted the value of the guilty plea, and the cooperation Mr McDonagh showed throughout the investigation, as well as the fact that there was “some restitution” made, but said the offence attracts a headline sentence of four years on one charge with a two-year consecutive sentence on another charge.

He imposed a sentence of four years’ imprisonment on count one on the indictment, adding a two-year prison sentence on count 53, to be served consecutively.

Taking all mitigation into account, he suspended the final four years and six months of the combined sentences for a period of five years and deferred the imposition of that sentence to July 10, 2025, to allow Mr McDonagh to put his affairs in order and attend the Confirmation of his youngest daughter.

He said he regrets having to impose a custodial sentence but stressed that he is “duty-bound to protect the social welfare system of the state”.