Those travelling in work vehicles, such as vans, lorries and taxies, face extra questions at Garda checkpoints as social welfare officers team up gardai.
As part of a crack down on social welfare fraud, the Department of Social Protection regularly teams up with gardai at Multi Agency Vehicle Checks (MAVCs). Social Welfare officers are joining checkpoints to detect if people are working while also claiming unemployment payments. Members of Revenue and Customs may also work at these checkpoints.
There are five offences that drivers are being checked for; vehicle tax evasion, road traffic irregularities, road safety irregularities, Revenue and Customs irregularities and suspected social welfare fraud. People working in "commercial vehicles, haulage and taxis " are the main focus of these targeted operations.
