Callers told Tuesday’s RTE radio show how they had handed over thousands of euros to Niall Minogue of Barna, Woodsgift, Kilkenny, trading as Quality Global Personnel, hoping that he would arrange jobs for them overseas.

Northern Ireland caller Robert Flanigan said he had paid Minogue £2,500 to work for a silage contractor in New Zealand in 2015. He said Minogue initially charged €200 for his fee, then €250 for a visa and the value of the air fare up front.

“I borrowed the money for the air fare,” said Flanigan. While Minogue did put him in touch with an employer down under, the farm worker said that when he contacted the travel agent two days before his trip, “they never had a flight booked”.

“I had to borrow money again to go,” he added.

Another caller, Paul Ready said he was part of a group of 10 people who paid Minogue €2,500 each after replying to his offers on social media. “He was saying he would send people to Australia and America, doing grain, set you up with contractors,” Ready said. He, too, said the services promised in exchange for the payments never materialised.

Minogue’s solicitor Con McDonnell confirmed to the Irish Farmers Journal that his client was convicted of fraud in November 2016 for the activities conducted by Quality Global Personnel. “He got a six-year sentence and he is serving it in Cork prison,” McDonnell said.

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Victims of overseas farm jobs fraud speak out

Farm workers and other jobseekers defrauded by a recruitment agent revealed the story on RTE's Liveline this week, exposing the scam that led to the man's conviction last year.