Patricia Sweeney gets community service for welfare fraud

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Patricia Sweeney was ordered to complete 240 hours of community service for theft and forgery at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, reported on 30 June 2017. The offences involved claiming more than €31,000 in welfare payments and submitting forged unemployment forms.

Sweeney pleaded guilty to 21 sample counts covering February 2011 to February 2015. Judge Melanie Greally imposed the community service instead of 12 months’ imprisonment on the first count, with two-year suspended sentences on the remaining counts.