Garda recording contract in spotlight

Details of a contract worth €500,000 to install recording equipment in garda stations across the country has been sought by the Dáil’s Public Accounts Committee, which is considering whether to carry out further investigations.

The system — which went out to tender in 2007 and was installed the following year — cost between €40,000 and €50,000 a year to operate, the Comptroller and Auditor General, Seamus McCarthy, told the committee.

However, Mr McCarthy said he would be reluctant to start examining the issue, given that a Commission of Inquiry has been established into the recording of phone calls in garda stations for almost 30 years.