Almost €1m spent by Garda on cars to transport Ministers

The Garda has spent almost €1 million buying cars to use for ministerial transport over the past two years.

A total of €971,556 has been paid out for 16 new vehicles, at an average cost of about €61,000 each, according to Garda records.

The outlay came following a Government decision in late 2022 that saw gardaí assigned to all Ministers just over a decade after a cost-saving plan for civilian drivers was first introduced.

The change was made following a security review by Garda Commissioner Drew Harris and in the context of a rise in protests by far-right and racist extremists.

There are now 37 cars in the Garda ministerial fleet, 24 of which are Audi A6 vehicles, while another eight are BMWs. Also part of the Government transport pool is a Ford Transit, two Hyundai Ioniqs, one Lexus and a Mercedes S 350 that is now 10 years old.

[ Garda to get extra €4.3m for vehicular fleet ]

More than half the fleet runs on diesel, with 21 of the vehicles operating with environmentally unfriendly engines. Fourteen of the cars are hybrid, mostly plug-ins, while only two – the Hyundai Ioniqs – are fully electric.

Some of the vehicles appear destined for replacement soon after running up significant mileage. A 2014 Audi A6, for example, has nearly 410,000 kilometres on its odometer while three 2013 Audis have clocked up between 332,000 and 367,000 kilometres each.