THE HSE are taking some of their employees in the midlands to court in an attempt to recoup money that was paid to them by accident.

The Sunday Tribune has learned that 57 HSE staff in the region have been issued with summonses and advised to "seek the advice of a solicitor" ahead of their court appearances next month.

The staff were unknowingly paid extra money in their salaries over a period of a few years in the late 1990s and early 2000s and only found out about the error in 2002 when they received a letter about it.

One HSE worker, who did not wish to be identified, said the letter received from JD Scanlon and Company Solicitors in Tullamore along with the summons, came like "a bolt from the blue" last week.

The workers' unions are currently in negotiations to have the matter settled. Forty-six of the 57 are members of Impact.

An Impact spokesman told the Sunday Tribune, "They originally received a letter from Midlands Health Board in September 2002 saying that there had been an error in overtime payments but there were no details about the amounts in those letters.

"No further correspondence appeared until September 2006 and this time it was from the HSE. In that letter, people were told they had been overpaid in error and owed the HSE money."

According to the Impact spokesman there were still no details of the amounts. "They were later issued and the smallest ones are €150. Four people are awaiting Circuit Court summonses. As they are getting summons from the Circuit Court, they must owe over €6,500."