The spending on accommodation for An Garda Síochána members who were policing an UEFA Europa League final in May last year did not represent value for money, according to the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General's report on the Accounts of the Public Services.
According to the spending watchdog, a public procurement process was also not conducted in line with Public Procurement Guidelines for the provision of the hotel accommodation.
Total policing costs for the three days around the UEFA Europa League final, which took place in the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on 22 May 2024, including overtime, came to €7.8m, the State spending watchdog said.
An Garda Síochána spent nearly €590,000 on accommodation for its members who were policing this event and just over 40% of this expenditure (€248,500) related to accommodation that was not used by garda personnel.
In total, garda members were required to be on duty for 5,464 shifts over the three-day event in May. Over time for the three-day period came to €4.92m, while other expenses including accommodation totalled €1.477m.
The report noted that An Garda Síochána engaged directly with 25 accommodation providers in the Dublin region for the provision of hotel accommodation for the three nights of the operation.
The Garda Representative Association had requested that single occupancy rooms would be required for members.
The booking of hotel accommodation started in March 2024 and 727 rooms had been booked by 23 April, with a potential maximum occupancy for 1,454 gardaí per night.
By 20 May, 246 of the rooms originally booked had been cancelled, and a further 59 rooms booked, resulting in a total of 540 rooms booked across 14 hotels.
This provided a potential maximum bed capacity of 1,040 per night and the total cost associated with the bookings over the three nights was €586,042.
Based on a spreadsheet provided, it appears that an average of 701 of the 1,040 available beds were allocated for use. But an average of 315 hotel beds were unallocated/unoccupied each night - the cost associated with the unoccupied beds was €145,698, today's report reveals.
Today's report also shows that costs totalling €91,577 incurred when cancelling 246 hotel room bookings in 11 hotels prior to the soccer match.
It noted that five hotels allowed the cancellation of 128 rooms (384 rooms over three nights) at no cost, while two hotels requested partial payment for 18 cancelled rooms (54 rooms over three nights) at a cost of €4,237.
Four hotels charged the full cost of 100 cancelled rooms (300 rooms over three nights) at a cost of €87,340.
"Notwithstanding the challenges in assessing demand for necessary accommodation, this level of wastage does not represent value for money," the C&AG report said.
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In a statement, An Garda Síochána said it has accepted the C&AG's recommendations.
"On the issue of hotel accommodation, based on the C&AG’s recommendations, a number of measures have been in place since Q4 2024 that have helped address them," a spokesperson said.
"This includes improving improve the timelines around the declaration by the organisation of a certain large-scale events as "extraordinary events". This has streamlined what is the level of Gardaí required at particular events."
"It should also ensure that the relevant procurement process and contracts are in place, and advance bookings of hotels are at a minimum percentage level prior to receiving the actual numbers of Gardaí required," the spokesperson added.
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