Paul Donnelly
Question:390. Deputy Paul Donnelly asked the Minister for Finance the estimated cost in 2022 of providing five additional drug detector dogs for the Revenue Commissioners. [40323/21]
View answerTuesday, 27 July 2021
Questions (390)
Written answers
I am advised by Revenue that the initial cost of each additional detection dog team is approximately €100,000 (€500,000 for 5 teams).
This includes the cost of a trained detection dog, salary of the handler, 8 weeks training for the handler with the dog, a fully fitted out dog transport van, a kennel and associated security at the handler’s home. The ongoing annual cost would be in the region of €40,000 per dog team (€200,000 for 5 teams), which includes salary, allowances, uniform, food, vet bills and other related costs .
Revenue has also confirmed that it keeps the recruitment of detection dog teams under continuous review and is satisfied that the current deployment is sufficient for operational needs.