By Eoghan Dalton
Approximately three thousand health service staff across Waterford and the southeast have been receiving the wrong pay for their work.
The HSE has confirmed the error, which saw the premium rate for night duty incorrectly added on for many staff.
The HSE says it identified the overpayment for roughly three thousand staff in Waterford and the wider region as part of a review of attendance.
Its electronic system accidentally calculated extra pay for a range of nursing, clerical and support staff, at University Hospital Waterford and several other facilities.
It's understood the night duty overpayment was mainly received by daytime staff who were rostered to work some of their shift after 8 pm.
The HSE has apologised to all staff for the error and says it will correct its system to stop the overpayments.
What's not yet known is how far back in time the overpayments go - or their extent.
This may become clearer after Thursday 17th of September when the HSE correction comes into effect.
The health body is also seeking talks with several unions to recoup the money paid in error. But one of those unions, Siptu, says that any discussion on recouping the overpayments must start from the position that the error was down to the HSE and not the fault of any staff.
