A woman worked at a Penneys store in Dublin using a different identity while she fraudulently claimed more than €21,000 in dole payments, a court has heard.

Nadege Kibamba (39), with an address on the North Circular Road, Dublin 7, pleaded guilty at Dublin District Court to charges under the Social Welfare Consolidation Act.

Prosecution solicitor Joseph Maguire told Judge John Brennan that the case involved four counts of making false declarations and two of misuse of a PRSI number.

He said the offences happened from 2010 until the following year, and between January 2014 and February 2015.

During the first period, she gained about €11,000, and during the second fraud she netted €10,308 in Jobseeker's Allowance, the court heard.

She was working at Penneys in Blanchardstown using a different PRSI number.

Reduced

The total fraud was €21,377, and since it was detected she has paid back €600.

The judge agreed to accept jurisdiction for the case to stay in the district court and not send it forward to the circuit court, which can impose sentences of up to three years for dole fraud crimes.

The court heard Kibamba is still getting the Jobseeker's Allowance but it has been reduced by €40 a month. At that rate it would take 43 years to pay all the money back.

The maximum that can be deducted from her dole payments is €28 a week.

The judge noted the guilty plea and adjourned sentencing. The case resumes in October.