Politics

OPW spends €3.6m on security at homes of politicians amid rise in protests

Office of Public Works has spent €3.63m since 2018 adding CCTV, alarms and other security measures at politicians’ homes and offices on advice of gardaí

Protests at politicians' homes, including one at the Wicklow home of Simon Harris in 2019, have been increasing.
Protests at politicians' homes, including one at the Wicklow home of Simon Harris in 2019, have been increasing.
Ken Foxe
Thu Oct 19 2023 - 12:51

The Office of Public Works (OPW) has spent more than €3.6 million on security at the homes of politicians and other officeholders over the past six years amid an upsurge in protests targeting TDs’ homes and constituencies. Spending this year is on track to exceed €1 million, with over €590,000 already spent on the provision of extra security at private residences during the first six months of the year.

The average expenditure on each project has also risen substantially with each of the installations this year costing an average of €118,000, according to figures from the OPW. The OPW said it was not involved in deciding who got security at their home, saying it acted on the instructions of the Department of Justice based on a threat assessment by gardaí.

Politicians are considered to be at much higher risk than in recent times, with a number of high-profile protests at the homes of ministers, including Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly and Higher Education Minister Simon Harris. Fears of a violent incident have also escalated following a protest at Leinster House late last month where a mock gallows with photos of several TDs was brought to the Dáil.

TDs and Senators have also been offered a €5,000 allowance so that they can improve security for staff, at their home, or for their constituency offices, which are considered particularly vulnerable. A log of expenditure by the OPW on security for officeholders shows €3.63 million was spent between 2018 and June of this year. Some €690,000 was spent in 2018 providing CCTV, alarms, and other measures at 18 private residences, with an average bill of about €38,000. Expenditure was particularly high in 2019 when the OPW spent €850,000 on security measures at 20 different locations, about €42,000 per project.

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This fell markedly in 2020, coinciding with Covid-19 pandemic restrictions. Some €213,000 was spent on five residences. In 2021, the bill was €707,000, which covered the cost of providing enhanced security at 14 different properties, an average of €50,500 per location. Expenditure last year came to €586,358 for eleven individual residences, about €53,000 for each project. The cost per project almost doubled this year to €118,089.