Almost 35,000 paying back social welfare overpayments

Almost 35,000 pensioners and other welfare recipients are making weekly repayments to the Department of Social Protection after it was discovered they were overpaid sometime in the past — in one case as far back as 31 years ago.

The majority of people, 31,870, are paying back an average of €21.80 per week by way of deductions from their benefits in deals struck with the department.

However, 2,800 people who did not reach agreement with the department are having their weekly payments forcibly cut by 15%, the maximum the department can legally deduct without consent. That averages a loss of €29 per week.