Kildare North TD Says He Acted Immediately To Repay Pension Overpayment When It Came To Light

Friday, 16 January 2026 15:26

By Martin Osborne - Head Of News

Speaking to Kfm News this afternoon, he said some ministers had agreed to surrender a portion of their salaries back to the State through a salary-sacrifice arrangement, with the process handled by Government payroll administrators.

Minister for Further and Higher Education and Kildare North TD James Lawless says he has fully repaid an overpayment arising from an error in pension deductions.

Speaking to Kfm News this afternoon, he said some ministers had agreed to surrender a portion of their salaries back to the State through a salary-sacrifice arrangement, with the process handled by Government payroll administrators.

However, he said a mistake was made in how pension contributions were calculated.

Minister Lawless said he was unaware of the issue until it was brought to his attention last summer.

He said Cabinet was later informed by Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers that a number of current and former ministers had been paying incorrect pension contributions - with some overpaying and others underpaying.

In his case, Minister Lawless says he owed money and immediately made arrangements to repay it.

He said the overpayment was paid back in full last year.

Meanwhile, a number of Cabinet ministers were unaffected, as no overpayments were identified in their cases.

Those included Kildare Minister for Agriculture and Kildare South TD Martin Heydon.

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