Gardai caused car damage of £126,000

GARDAI were responsible for more than £126,000 worth of damage to their own vehicles in 1995, according to the report.

GARDAI were responsible for more than £126,000 worth of damage to their own vehicles in 1995, according to the report.

It shows that of those accidents where blame has been determined, gardai were deemed responsible for more than half the total cost of the damage.

The report says that in 119 accidents involving Garda vehicles, the total cost of the damage - £126,393 - was "attributable to Garda personnel".

In 125 accidents involving the Garda fleet, other people were responsible for damage totalling £101,369.

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A further 22 accidents where the damage totalled about £18,600 were deemed partly attributable to Garda personnel, while 61 accidents with damage amounting to about £55,000 were still being assessed.

There were 265 cases where the Garda authorities deemed damage to Garda vehicles had been caused maliciously. The total bill was more than £113,000 and in six cases compensation totalling just £1,255 was recovered.

The report also shows the rising cost of crime to the State - with an increase in murders among the factors putting the Garda over budget.

The cost of Garda travel and subsistence in 1995, expected to be £9.2 million, amounted to £9.85 million. The extra cost was due to "increased homicide investigations, crime investigations abroad and presidential visits abroad", according to the report.

Miscellaneous costs included a repayable advance of £90,880 to the Garda Federation, one of the groups representing gardai, to cover the cost of a court case.