Gardaí Spent €590,000 on Hotel Rooms, €248,500 Unused in Europa League Final
An Garda Síochána spent €590,000 on hotel accommodation for members policing the UEFA Europa League final in Dublin. However, a report by the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) has revealed significant overspending and waste in the allocation of these rooms.
The C&AG identified 13 Garda members who were assigned two rooms in the same hotel, and 11 who were given two hotel rooms in different hotels. This led to a total of €248,500 being spent on accommodation that was never used. In total, 786 rooms were booked, with an average of 315 beds unused each night, costing €145,698.
The C&AG also found 145 subsistence claims for members that included claims for accommodation, costing €32,598 in overlapping payments. Additionally, more than 250 cases of potential overpayment of travel and subsistence claims were identified, totalling €35,000. The C&AG criticized the level of expenditure on unused accommodation, stating it did not represent value for money.
An Garda Síochána has agreed to investigate the use of a more sophisticated method for the allocation of accommodation to reduce administrative errors. The total policing costs for the event were €7.8 million, with the largest item being overtime payments of €4.92 million.
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