HSE staff overpaid by €400,000 in payroll error

HSE managers in Cork and Kerry are accidentally over-paying workers by as much as €400,000 in total a year due to a series of payroll system errors — with some recipients refusing to give the money back.

The situation, which is likely to have been repeated in other parts of the country, is revealed in a 24-page HSE internal audit report specifically focussing on the region.

The document, made public yesterday, shows that despite growing concern over the health service’s growing mountain of debt, simple errors which could be easily avoided are adding to taxpayers’ woes.