Gardaí paid €54.8m in overtime due to Covid
Sergeants and inspectors have received overtime totalling €15.23m from the start of March to September 23. (stock photo)
Gardaí have been paid €54.8m in overtime during the Covid-19 pandemic, figures from Justice Minister Helen McEntee show.
Sergeants and inspectors have received overtime totalling €15.23m from the start of March to September 23.
The huge bill is made up of €39.48m to rank and file gardaí; €11.47m to sergeants and €3.768m to inspectors.
The figures, provided in a written Dáil reply to Social Democrats' TD Catherine Murphy, show the overtime spend in Dublin during those six months totalled €18.38m.
The biggest spend in the capital was in Dublin North Central, where gardaí racked up €4.072m.
In Dublin South Central, overtime totalled €4.007m.
Elsewhere in the capital, the overtime spend for the Dublin North division totalled €3.58m, in Dublin South it was €2.043m and in Dublin West it totalled €1.19m.
The figures also show the overtime spend by garda national units and garda HQ was €11.89m.
Overtime payments to gardaí in the units and HQ cost €7.78m; sergeants received €3m and inspectors got €1.09m.
Outside the capital, the overtime spend for Cork city was €1.6m, Galway €1.78m, Limerick €1.5m and Louth €1.9m.
Part of the garda response to Covid-19 was a new roster- ing system, with frontline off-icers working 12-hour shifts for four days, followed by four days off.
Department of Justice officials said extra funds will be needed for gardaí, and these supplements will come in Oct-ober or November, rather than at the end of the year.
As well as overtime costs, the department said the response to Covid-19 has piled pressure on the overall garda budget, adding costs of €44m to date.
Rosters
The briefing documents for Ms McEntee put additional payroll costs due to the revised rosters at €18m.
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for officers cost €14m, additional fleet purchases totalled €3m, hiring additional vehicles cost €1.5m and information and communications technology accounted for €3m.
Ms McEntee said that as a result of the Government's July Stimulus, an additional €11m was made available to An Garda Síochána in capital funding.
She added that her department continues to engage with gardaí concerning budgetary matters.