2,600 overpaid teachers and staff still owe €800k

More than €800,000 has still to be deducted from the pay of 2,600 teachers and other school staff who were overpaid by the Department of Education in 2011.

The overpayments arose when it took the department over six months to determine who should be subject to a 10% reduction announced in Dec 2010 to the pay of all new entrants to the public service.

The difficulties arose due to problems figuring out those who had worked before Jan 2011, many as part-time or substitute teachers, as they were exempt from reduced salary levels.