The official band of An Garda Siochana has cost taxpayers up to €5.5 million in the past three years, according to a Freedom of Information act report conducted by The Journal.ie.
The Garda Band is comprised of 29 full-time musicians who perform at a variety of national events including the St Patrick’s Day Parade in Dublin, the Rose of Tralee Festival and the National Ploughing Championships.
Records released under the FOI Act show that the cost of maintaining the Garda Band has increased by more than 5% in the past three years despite the number of members being reduced from 30 to 29.
In addition to salaries and allowances amounting to €5.2 million between 2014 and 2016, a total of €24,480 was spent on “training, development and incidental” expenses for the band; while €10,864 was spent in connection with the band’s premises in Phoenix Park.
Clothing and accessories for the Garda Band also cost the taxpayer €78,677 during the same period, while a further €70,426 was spent on communications and other equipment for the troupe.
Members of the band, none of whom are involved in policing duties, were paid an average of €58,985 each last year; and racked up transport, travel and subsistence expenses of €88,487 between 2014 and 2016.
The revelation that the Garda Band accounted for €5,748,764 of police spending during the past three years emerges less than a week after the scarcity of resources within An Garda Siochana came under scrutiny before the Oireachtas Justice Committee.
Last Thursday, Acting Garda Commissioner John Twomey told the Committee that the force’s overtime budget for 2017 was “under significant strain” and it had been necessary for Garda management to seek extra funding.
The band was established shortly after the foundation of An Garda Siochana in 1922. It was disbanded in November 1965 and its 35 full-time members were told to report for ordinary policing duties.
The band was re-established in 1972, however, to mark the 50th anniversary of the foundation of An Garda Siochana, and has remained a part of the force ever since.
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