Tailte Éireann, the State’s property registration authority, is seeking to hire a debt collection firm at a cost of €300,000 in an effort to recoup overpayments made to 266 staff and former staff over a 26-year period.
The agency has identified 373 cases of overpayments to employees, former employees and pensioners from 2000 to 2026.
It is now seeking tenders from debt management companies to recover the overpayments using a “full legal chase path”. The service is expected to cost €300,000 over a maximum of three years.
While the scale of the overpayments and the total amount owed is unknown, the tender documents specifically mention High Court judgments, which can only be sought if an individual debt exceeds €75,000.
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The agency, which was formed in 2023 following a merger of Ordnance Survey Ireland, the Property Registration Authority and the Valuation Office, says it has an obligation to recover overpayments of salaries, allowances or expenses.
The tender documents say it is obliged to correct mistakes regarding the disbursement of public money and that staff or pensioners from the agency have an obligation to repay relevant amounts.
A total of 315 overpayment cases relating to 214 individuals have been identified between 2000 and 2022, while another 50 cases concerning 44 individuals were identified for the subsequent three years.
This year another eight cases of overpayments relating to eight individuals have been identified by Tailte Éireann. The agency says the complexity and duration of the cases vary considerably.
The debt management company will be required to provide a full service, ensuring “a more effective transition from the pre-legal to the legal aspect of the debt management process, which is also required”, according to the tender.
The “legal chase path” will include the issuance of demand letters, follow-up telephone calls, drafting and serving summonses, preparation of affidavits and obtaining debt judgments at District, Circuit and High Court level.
The estimated value of the contract for the provision of debt management services is €300,000, excluding VAT, and the duration of the contract is one year, with up to two 12-month extensions.
Tailte Éireann has been contacted for comment.
