Garda overtime bill up 62% in Dublin over Hutch-Kinahan feud

The Garda overtime bill in the capital has risen by 62 per cent in the first six months of this year, as the force stepped up its efforts to stem a spate of gangland killings.

Figures released by the Garda under the Freedom of Information Act show the overtime bill in the capital increased by €7 million to €18.47 million for the first half of this year.

The main factor behind the increase was the extra resources the Garda have deployed in Dublin to combat the Kinahan-Hutch feud. Garda overtime spending across the country as a whole increased by 47.6 per cent in the first half of 2016. It rose from €20 million to €29.58 million between January and June of this year.

Overtime hours

The figures show Dublin has accounted for 73 per cent of the €9.5 million increase in overtime payments for the first six months of this year.

The figures show the overtime bill in the Dublin Metropolitan North Central Division for the first six months of this year totalled €4.55 million, a doubling of the €2.27 million paid out in the first six months of 2015.

One sergeant in the Dublin Metropolitan area received €34,666 in overtime between January and June. Two others received over €30,000.

While the shooting dead of six of the 10 feud victims in Dublin in the first half of the year necessitated a costly policing response, the investigation of the murders absorbs significant levels of overtime.

The 1916 celebrations also required overtime.