Section 30 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005 provides a statutory basis for the Garda Commissioner, as Accounting Officer for the Garda Vote, to charge for police services on a non-public duty basis for commercial events such as sports fixtures and concerts.
I am informed by the Garda authorities that the cost to the event holder is determined by the number of Garda personnel deployed and that the operational plan for a particular event is formulated by local Garda management. The objective of charging is to recover the cost of providing the police services. I am further informed that An Garda Síochána does not seek to recover its costs for charitable events or for national public events such as policing the St. Patrick’s Day parade which are funded by the public purse.
The table below outlines the monies recouped by An Garda Síochána for policing sporting fixtures by the FAI, IRFU and the GAA during 2013 and 2014.
Organisation
|
2013
|
2014
|
Total
|
FAI
|
€105,855.00
|
€157,871.00
|
€263,726.00
|
IRFU
|
€178,697.00
|
€274,088.00
|
€452,785.00
|
GAA
|
€313,365.00
|
€422,935.00
|
€736,300.00
|