GALWAY JUDGE URGES OVERHAUL OF SOCIAL WELFARE SCREENING SYSTEM

Date Published: 12-Feb-2009

Judge Mary Fahy has called on the Department of Social and Family Affairs to overhaul its screening procedures as certain people seem to have no difficulty in defrauding the system.

The judge made the comments at Galway District Court yesterday after hearing how a Russian man, living in Galway illegally since 2003, managed to defraud the Department of 10thousand euro.

40 year old Alexandrs Loukianenko, of 134 Castlelawn Heights, Headford Road, was given sentences totalling 20 months.

Garda Pat Foley told the court he received a complaint from Joe Ryan, manager of Dawn Dairies in Renmore, in November last year that food was being stolen regularly from two cold rooms at the depot.

Garda Foley said Loukianenko was hired by Custodian security company in 2002 to work as a security man at the depot every weekend on his own

When he viewed CCTV cameras positioned in the cold rooms they showed the accused stealing frozen products, valued at €2,000 on four separate dates last November.

Loukianenko came to Ireland legally in 2001 and was working as a security man but when his permit expired in 2003, he bought a Lithuanian passport and Irish driving licence

Loukianenko used the documents to make four claims for social welfare payments on various dates from 2007 to December 12 last.

Defence solicitor, Olivia Traynor said her client had €3,000 to offer as compensation to Dawn Dairies.

Judge Fahy said “Other people have to wait for months and queue outside, yet, this man can go in, coolly and calmly and get his claim sorted.”

Sentences totalling twenty months were imposed on the accused and he was disqualified from driving for two years for driving without insurance when intercepted by Gardai.