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A pharmacist in Northern Ireland has been suspended from practice for a year after she was convicted of falsifying her Universal Credit declarations to receive overpayments totalling more than £50,000 over a four-year period.

Hayley McIntyre appeared before the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland's fitness to practise committee earlier this week at a hearing arising from her conviction last October for making a false declaration on her Universal Credit declaration in 2019. Ms McIntyre was handed a fully suspended custodial sentence. 

The court found she had falsely declared to have capital of just £300 despite Department for Communities estimates indicating she may have had as much as £21,000 in capital due to her stake in a property, well above the upper limit for Universal Credit entitlement of £16,000. 

Between March 2019 and March 2023 she received an overpayment of £52,036.26.

Ms McIntyre self-reported to the regulator following her conviction. 

In her reflective account, she said she had sold the property in order to pay back the money in full and that she "deeply" regretted her actions. This was done of her own volition and without the need for a confiscation order, her solicitor told the FTP committee. 

She said she had been under financial pressure during the relevant period but that this was not an excuse for her actions, which she described as being out of character. 

The FTP committee acknowledged her sincere remorse but also noted there was "limited detail and depth" in her account, adding that actions involving dishonesty "are hard to remediate". 

However, the committee found her remedial actions demonstrated that there is little chance the behaviour in question will be repeated.

It imposed a 12-month suspension order and advised her to demonstrate "further reflection" on her actions at a future review hearing before the order expires.