A man has been arrested as part of an investigation into fraudulent claims over the Pandemic Unemployment Payment.
The 35-year-old man was arrested in the Middleton area of Cork this morning by gardaí seconded to the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection, assisted by the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau.
He is being detained at Cobh Garda Station, where he can be held for up to seven days.
Gardaí say that 73 people have had their personal details used to fraudulently claim the payment.
All 73 received an email claiming to be from the Courts Service Ireland regarding jury duty and were asked to provide some personal information, which included PPSN numbers, names, addresses, dates of birth and their mother's maiden name.
The details were then used to apply online and claim the payment of €350 per person, per week.
An estimated €187,000 has been paid out in respect of the 73 applications.
The man is the second person to be arrested in connection with the investigation.
A man in his 40s was arrested in mid-December.
