A 63-year-old Lisnaskea man, who claimed Job Seekers Allowance without declaring that he had a personal savings account, has been fined £400 when he appeared before a recent sitting of Fermanagh Magistrates Court.

Thomas Tierney (63), of Moorlough, was convicted of claiming £3,698 fraudulently.

There were four charges of making false claims to receive Job Seekers Allowance before the court.

A solicitor for the defence told the court that his client had worked all his life and came to claim benefits late in life. He submitted Tierney had difficulties with the 'signing on' process and, also with the completion of all the necessary forms.

He conceded that his client should have revealed the existence of an ISA account he had when applying for these benefits, although the defendant would say that he was never asked about savings.

The further three charges arose out of benefit claims that followed the defendant's non-declaration.

The court heard that once the defendant realised the amount of money that had to be repaid, he repaid this immediately, and the full amount has now been repaid to the Social Security Agency.

The defendant was fined £100 on each of the four charges.