Enniskillen Magistrates Court
A MAGUIRESBRIDGE man has been given community service for claiming over £2,000 while failing to declare he had been working.
Desmond Ross (38) of Tattinderry Heights pleaded guilty to two counts of failing to declare a change in his circumstances to the Social Security Agency at Enniskillen Magistrates Court on Monday, relating to two periods between July 2015 and November 2015, and between July 2015 and January 2016.
The charges arose after social services received a report that Ross was working for local company K&K (NI). A check on the social services system showed he hadn’t declared he was working. The company was issued by a form from the employers.
During his interview in March 2016 Ross denied he had been working, stating he had been in Dublin for two weeks looking for work but had failed to find any. When he was shown details that he had been working, Ross asked for time to take legal advice.
A second interview then took place in April 2016, when Ross admitted to working, but stated he didn’t think he was working that long, and said he was ‘skint’ at the time.
Defence solicitor Brian Charity explained Ross had taken two separate blocks of work, for two months each time, but as the jobs had lasted such a short time he thought he would wait to see if they worked out before informing social welfare.
In total, the court was told Ross over-claimed a total of £2,376.77, £762.17 in income support and £1,614.60 carers’ allowance. He is currently paying back £10 a month by direct debit, but the court was told that figure may rise as he had recently gained new employment.
District Judge Nigel Broderick said he hoped Ross had now seen the error of his ways, and sentenced him to 150 hours community service.
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