Five thousand pensioners are in line for a tax refund after a mistake by Revenue.

It came about after people who get both a State and a private pension were issued with the wrong tax certificiates for February.

Tax officials wrongly assumed that people were getting double the State pension, and these credits were then deducted from their private pension.

The Revenue Commission has apologised for the blunder.

Charlie Weston, Personal Finance Editor with the Irish Independent, says a lot of people have been left out of pocket: