The new Insurance Fraud Coordination Office (IFCO) will be launched in mid-September and put under the control of the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB), the Irish Independent reports.

The unit will investigate reports of suspected fraud from insurance policyholders themselves, as well as cases referred by insurers.

The establishment of the IFCO was one of the recommendations of the government’s Cost of Insurance Working Group and backed by the Personal Injuries Commission chaired by former High Court president Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns.