An analytical facial recognition tool used by Ireland's Department of Social Protection has uncovered a man using a number of different identities to claim social welfare.Dubliner David Church this week pleaded guilty to fraudulently claiming almost 5 million euros ($5.8 million) in social welfare payments over 12 years.A court heard that Church had travelled to a record office in Manchester, the UK and paid £10 (US$15) for each birth cert, then used those identities to claim welfare in Ireland, reported Officials in the Department of Social Protection became suspicious in July 2013 after facial image-matching showed four people claiming social welfare with the same photograph.Ireland launched a Public Services Card that year which required welfare recipients to stand in front of a camera so that their facial image can be recorded and printed onto the new card.Once the rollout was completed, visitors to Social Welfare offices had another picture taken and referenced against the original to vouch for their identity.At the time, a spokeswoman for the Department said the facial image matching software was “an integral part” of the Public Services Card project, “in that it ensures that only one identity will be associated with each photograph”.A contract for the facial image matching software worth almost 213,000 euros was awarded to 3M Ireland.

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