Bill to alter policing cost for big events

People who run "for profit" events such as rock concerts, race meetings and sports fixtures will have to pay a "very considerable portion of the policing costs" from now on, the Dáil was told.

Minister for Justice Michael McDowell said: "They cannot simply take the profit and leave the community to pay the bills."

He also said he hoped to bring in a fixed penalty for offences such as urinating in public places because gardaí "should not have to go to the District Court three months later to try to identify the lamppost against which the urination in question took place".

He was responding to Independent TD Tony Gregory (Dublin Central), who said the taxpayer subsidised these events.

Mr Gregory said that "on non-match days you'd be lucky to see a garda anywhere in the environs of Croke Park, yet on match days the gardaí rightly operate a cordon on streets around the stadium. They patrol the area in vans, on motorcycles, and with dogs, mounted units, tow trucks and all the other paraphernalia and rightly so."

Pointing out that Croke Park made €2 million profit on tickets last year, he said that despite the intense activity they organise when major events arise gardaí admit they "cannot control" people drinking on footpaths outside pubs.

"They cannot control people urinating in public. They cannot control people illegally parking cars and obstructing residents."

Mr McDowell agreed with Mr Gregory that "if the organisers of high-profit events were obliged to pay their fair share of the extra security and policing there would be more resources, and it would be easier for local district officers to assign gardaí to deal with the particular problems to which the deputy refers".

He said until now event organisers have paid for the cost of "non-public" duties by gardaí inside a venue, and the work is done by gardaí who would otherwise be off-duty.

"Gardaí who operate inside the venue are paid, while those on duty outside are supplied without payment."

However, the Garda Síochána Bill, which passed all stages in the Dáil last night, provided for the Garda commissioner "to charge for police services for commercial events such as sports fixtures and concerts".