The former assistant and deputy Garda commissioners were overpaid between €7,000 to €24,000 each between 2012 and 2018 because the provisions of section 2 of the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act 2009 were not correctly applied.

The affected officers received letters before Christmas and their payments were reduced.

A spokesperson for the Department of Justice said: “The Department is obliged to correct any error in relation to pension payments and put in place a recoupment arrangement.

“The matter came to light during 2018 in correspondence with [the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform] in relation to the pension calculations of another retiring senior garda member.”