Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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124. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the number of persons that have been overpaid as a result of errors within the National Shared Services Office; the highest overpayment recorded; the average overpayment; the amount recovered; the total in overpayments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11778/18]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I am informed by the National Shared Services Office that an overpayment to staff of salary, allowances and expenses can and does occur across the entire public service for a number of reasons, including late notification, after the payroll closed and the file has issued to the bank for payment.

In addition, the reform of sick leave in the public service, while creating significant savings and standardisation of administration and elimination of legacy issues, has meant that staff are reaching sick leave thresholds earlier, which increases the risk of a pay adjustment not being notified in a timely manner.

Shared Services is reliant on employees and managers notifying sick leave on the first day of occurrence. Late or delayed notification results in overpayments. Regular communications were issued by the NSSO to civil service staff to notify them of their obligations and an intensified information campaign is also planned for 2018 with Local HR.

In relation to the specific queries raised by the Deputy, I am advised that the data provided in the table is for 2017 and is estimated as it is subject to audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General.