Gordon DeeganThe visit of US president Joe Biden here in April has sent the Garda overtime bill surging to €78.76 million for the first five months of this year. In new figures provided by Minister for Justice Helen McEntee, the €78.76 million overtime spend to the end of May compares to a 12 month overtime bill of €127.72 million for 2022. The overtime spend for the first five months of this year represents 61.6 per cent of the total €127.72 million Garda overtime spend for 2022 which was the highest in recent years. All of the specialist Garda units – including the Armed Response Units, Special Detective Unit, Public Order Unit, Garda Dog Unit and others – were also involved in the policing operation, with all Garda leave cancelled for the duration of the visit. The detailed breakdown of the overtime spend for the first three months shows that the overtime spend in Dublin Garda divisions totalled €12.03 million with the highest spend at €2.55 million in DMR West.

Source: The Herald June 22, 2023 16:00 UTC