700 Defence Forces members being paid 'border allowance' despite not working on border

Update 1pm It has emerged that over 700 soldiers are still being paid an allowance for working at the border with the North - which was scrapped eight years ago.

The Department of Defence has confirmed that it can't remove the payments unless it buys out the soldiers who receive it.

The allowance was paid to Defence Forces members who were based near the border during the Troubles.

Maurice Quinn from the Department of Defence says people who get that allowance are barred from receiving other ones.

Earlier: It has emerged that some members of the Defence Forces are still being paid a "border allowance" - despite being nowhere near the border.

The allowance used to be paid to soldiers who were based near the border with Northern Ireland during the Troubles.

It was scrapped in 2009 for new entrants, but can't be taken off the soldiers who used to get it, unless they're bought out.

Maurice Quinn from the Department of Defence admits that means some soldiers, who are nowhere near the border, still get the payment: "That goes back to the original decision.

"There are a small number and I can explain why, they were working on the border, they were in receipt of the allowance, we couldn't just take it back from these people, and we had to have a process by which they could buy it out."