An Garda Síochána is significantly undercharging private companies for policing concerts and other major events, according to the Comptroller and Auditor General.
Additionally, the force is still owed millions for providing policing services for large gatherings, despite a recent stepping up of debt collection.
The result is that public funds are being used to subsidise private companies, a meeting of the Public Accounts Committee (Pac) heard on Thursday.
Comptroller and Auditor General Seamus McCarthy raised significant concerns around the policing of private events.
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He said it was Garda policy to charge private companies the full costs for policing commercial events. There is no charge for charity or community focused events, and a charge of 50 per cent of full costs for commercial events with a partial public-interest focus.
The Garda charges a flat rate of €45 per hour for every member assigned to an event. However, that rate does not account for overtime, Sunday or bank holiday premiums, Mr McCarthy said. It also does not account for the cost of more senior gardaí assigned to an event, which may cost much more than the €45 rate.
This means the flat rate “represents an assumed, rather than actual, cost”, Mr McCarthy said.
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The Comptroller sampled 15 events policed by gardaí and found an “inconsistent” approach to cost recovery. For several large events, Garda hours exceeded those originally estimated, “leading to shortfalls in cost recovery”.
Mr McCarthy added: “This undermines the integrity of the charging regime and potentially subsidises commercial activity with public funds.”
He found that the €7 million recovered by the Garda in 2023 for policing events was recorded on a stand-alone spreadsheet and not integrated into financial accounting records. There is also no audit trail for invoices, including cancelled invoices, he said, which exposed the Garda to “an unnecessary level of financial risk”.
The committee also heard the Garda is owed €2.6 million in unpaid fees for events policing. Aonghus O’Connor, the Garda’s executive director of finance, said debt collection had ramped up recently, and this figure was down from €3.6 million last year.
However, Mr O’Connor said there is no way of sanctioning or punishing companies which refuse to pay the charges. Some companies pay immediately, some drag their feet, and some do not pay at all, he said.
Garda Commissioner Drew Harris told the committee he had accepted the recommendations of the Comptroller to improve fee collections. The hourly rates charged by the force “are not reflective of overall cost”, he said.
However, he added that regardless of fees, the Garda has an obligation to police large events such as concerts to ensure public safety.
Mr Harris also faced questioning over the purchase of a large amount of ammunition by the Garda from an Italian company. After the rounds were found to be defective through testing, they were destroyed and a certificate of destruction was later issued by a sergeant.
Labour TD Eoghan Kenny asked why responsibility and cost for destruction fell to the Garda rather than the Italian company.
“Did the Commissioner approve the issuance of the declaration, or was the sergeant simply permitted to write off €160,000 of public funds?” he asked.
Mr Harris said the issue did not pass his desk. “That simply beggars belief,” the TD responded.
The Commissioner said he would come back to the committee with further information.
