Garda Transport Expenditure

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 11 February 2014

Tuesday, 11 February 2014

Questions (455)

Patrick O'Donovan

Question:

455. Deputy Patrick O'Donovan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will provide details, since 2007, of the number of collisions involving Garda vehicles, where the cause was attributed to another vehicle and driver and where the Garda vehicle was withdrawn from service; the numbers of these incidents which were pursued by the State Claims Agency with a view to recouping the cost of replacing the Garda vehicle from the insurer of the other party in the collision. [6628/14]

Written answers

Minister for Justice and Equality

The Garda Commissioner is responsible for the operation of Garda transport.

In that context I am advised by the Garda authorities that, while it is not possible to provide the specific information sought by the Deputy, the table below shows the number of incidents of damage to Garda vehicles for the years 2007 to 2013 and the number of cases where recoveries were made by the State Claims Agency (SCA) on behalf of An Garda Síochána where a third party was deemed liable.

With regard to the figures provided, the Deputy will appreciate that timing differences arise in relation to when cases are finalised by the SCA and when the original incidents occur.

In addition it is possible that some vehicles may have been involved in more than one incident in the same year.

Year	Number of Incidents involving Garda vehicles	No. of cases where recoveries were finalised by the SCA	Amount recovered by the SCA - €
2013	598	28	87,408
2012	639	26	47,643
2011	667	54	167,173
2010	578	63	128,641
2009	655	45	212,939
2008	590	58	151,478
2007	550	65	183,473