Ms Oonagh McPhillips:

There are a number of reasons that we attribute to these overpayments. The new sick leave scheme for the public service, which began in 2014, halved the amount of sick leave people can take. It was a considerable reduction. Every time somebody goes over that limit, every absence thereafter is without pay. That kicks in earlier. That is one of the elements of it. As payrolls across the Civil Service are generally processed in advance, changes cannot be made at short notice. That means we are automatically in arrears when these limits are exceeded.