Patrol car ‘worth less’ than €4k repair bill

Gardaí spent €4,000 repairing a 06 Garda car after it involved in an accident with a donkey in Co Donegal.

Middle-ranking officers said the car was not even worth €4,000 and this was an example of money being wasted in repairing, rather than replacing, vehicles.

Speaking at the annual conference of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors, Sgt Paul Wallace of the Donegal branch said around €4,000 was set to be spent on repairing the garda car after the collision.

“The car will not be worth that after repair and it has a significant odometer reading meaning its further life is poor.”

AGSI president-elect Willie Gleeson said money was being “needlessly” spent on maintaining battered cars. The president, who has been based in Anglesea Garda Station in Cork since 1998, said there were many cases like the Donegal one.

“We had examples of personnel carriers in Cork that has cost €20,000 to maintain and keep on the road, examples of motorbikes in the traffic corps with thousands being spent to keep them roadworthy.

“We’ve had incidents of vehicles being taken off the road and repaired at huge cost and we’re saying we need a budget that if they are unserviceable or cost too much to repair, to replace the car. We need to have a budget to go and purchase vehicles or lease vehicles.”

Sgt Wallace said €11.5m was being spent this year on maintaining the fleet.

He said that only 7% of the fleet was less than two years old in March compared to 52% in Dec 2008.

Separately, AGSI deputy general secretary John Redmond accused the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission of wanting “garda heads on platters”.

He said the watchdog wanted all the “juicy” cases to itself, ones that would “make the headlines”.

He said they referred all other cases to be investigated by the gardaí themselves, usually by members of his association, at the expense of the force.