Fianna Fáil TD returns pension payments

A Fianna Fáil TD is being asked to repay almost €7,500 in pension payments given to him by mistake.

The error in the payment to the Wexford Deputy John Browne was discovered after records were released to Sinn Féin in a parliamentary question last week.

Since the last election, sitting TDs are not entitled to ministerial pension payments.

However, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform has been forced to apologise after making an error and paying the pension to Wexford TD John Browne.

He has now agreed with the Department to repay the €7,396 paid to him in error.

The Department has confirmed that no other sitting TD is getting a ministerial pension payment.

It is not the only error from the Department; initially they had declared that Mr Browne was receiving pension payments totalling €55,000 a year.

The Department has now admitting that the error arose because they combined the figures for the Wexford TD with payments to another John Browne, a former Fine Gael TD for Carlow Kilkenny.