The Department of Foreign Affairs spent more than €1 million last year on new cars including €335,000 for armoured vehicles for use in high-risk environments.
The largest bill was the €168,106 which was paid for a Toyota Land Cruiser 300 GXR for use in Abuja in Nigeria, FOI records showed.
The vehicle, which was bought for security purposes, was purchased from a dealership in Toronto for more than €163,000 and shipped to Africa at a cost of roughly €4,500.
A similar armoured Land Cruiser was bought for the Irish Representative Office in Ramallah in Palestine.
The black utility vehicle was bought from the United Arab Emirates at a cost of €85,569 while the previous car in use there was traded in for just over €32,000.
A third high-spec Land Cruiser was purchased at the Irish Embassy in the Colombian capital of Bogotá.
It cost just over €81,000 when it was purchased last November, according to invoices provided by the Department of Foreign Affairs.
The Department of Foreign Affairs said these cars were used throughout the working day and evenings on journeys that would sometimes be hundreds of miles.
They said vehicles were selected based on factors including public transport options, security considerations, climate, terrain, and safety.
An information note said: “[They] are used for as long as they can be operated in a safe and efficient manner without excessive maintenance costs or substantial reduction in their trade-in value.”
They said replacement only went ahead where the vehicle was old, where there was a business requirement, or when the costs of maintenance made keeping it uneconomical.
The department said they were also committed to more fuel-efficient models when practical but that some missions operated in difficult environments where “security and health and safety issues” were the top priority.
Forecasters at Met Éireann were briefed on the “profound impacts” from the possible collapse of an ocean current system that keeps Ireland’s weather relatively mild.
International climate scientists have raised the alarm over the cooling of what is known as the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), the shutdown of which would be a potentially irreversible tipping point in the climate crisis.
Met Éireann forecasters were given guidance notes on how best to communicate the risks for Ireland and how the AMOC was at its weakest in over a millennium.
An advisory said: “It is projected to decline by a further 30 to 40 percent by 2100.”
Forecasters were told that a large cold pool of water, sometimes referred to as the ‘cold blob’, had been observed in North Atlantic waters in recent decades as part of the system weakening.
The guidance note said: “The northern part of the North Atlantic where the cold pool has been observed is the only global region which has cooled as the rest of the world has warmed due to climate change.
“Further weakening of the AMOC is expected to lead to a continuation of the cold pool in the North Atlantic, with the possibility of further cooling.”
It said that while warming caused by climate change was predicted to continue in Ireland, the influence of the cold pool could mean this was less than what would be seen in continental Europe.
The advisory said that while complete shutdown of the AMOC was still thought unlikely, it could not be “definitively ruled out”.
The note explained that if collapse did happen, the impact on Ireland would be “profound” with far more severe winters, warmer summers, and a possible increase in storminess.
It also said weakening of the AMOC was likely to result in further sea level rises around the country, in addition to what is already expected from climate change.
Public health inspectors visiting the Mount Street encampment of asylum seekers in Dublin heard that rats had been running around in daylight, saw street drains blocked with soiled toilet paper, and warned of a substantial risk of infectious disease spread.
The HSE health protection team said that asylum applicants living there had no choice but to use the streets as toilets during the night while seagulls and other birds rummaged through food waste at the site.
The HSE staff could not even tell how many people were living there, at first believing there were 200 but later discovering there were 273 when the encampment was dismantled.
When the inspection took place in late April, the public health staff saw “open defecation, faeces, including diarrhoea … and urination”.
Drains were found to be blocked with soiled toilet paper and garbage was evident all around the encampment.
The public health report, which was released under Freedom of Information laws, said: “[Department of Justice] staff had witnessed rodents at the site, even during the day. Rodents (and birds), as vectors of disease, further add to risk.”
It said trying to clean the site with power hoses was challenging because of the tightly packed tents and the risk of spreading contamination further.
Concerns were also raised that there could be drug waste on the site – including dirty needles – that had the potential to spread “blood-borne viruses”.
The report said even the most basic public health standards, which included access to fresh water, sanitation services, and proper waste collection were not in place.
It added: “The physical, psychosocial and emotional pressures caused by a lack of security and poor shelter compound the stresses experienced by these people, significantly undermining their health and well-being, and ability to recover.”
Staff of the Department of Justice said they were frightened of being trapped in their building if an encampment of tents set up by asylum seekers ended up catching fire.
In a series of pleas to bosses, civil servants wrote of overflowing bins, appalling sanitary conditions, and being unable to open their windows.
It said staff were in “a heightened state of anxious alert” and at increased risk of burnout as tents were “pressed right up close to windows” and with people dressing and undressing right in front of them.
Feedback gathered from employees of the International Protection Office (IPO) – which manages asylum applications – said the Mount Street encampment in Dublin was a “recipe for disaster”.
It said: “All of the … agencies with any level of involvement have shown themselves to be completely unwilling to take any measures – presumably as a result of concern about the negative media coverage that would attend any direct engagement.”
The views of IPO staff were collated in the period leading up to final removal of the camp in May with workers especially worried about what the summer would bring.
One person wrote: “I no longer feel safe in my workplace. I don’t feel safe travelling to work, I don’t feel safe whilst I am here in work, and I don’t feel safe leaving and going home.”
Asked about the records, which were released under the Freedom of Information Act, a spokesperson for the Department of Justice said: “The well-being of both staff of the IPO and applicants was the paramount concern for the department in what was a difficult situation for all concerned.
“A multi-agency operation resulted in the removal of the encampment of tents in recent months. The IPO continues to liaise with relevant agencies including An Garda Síochána and Dublin City Council where necessary to maintain health and safety in the environs of the IPO.”
TDs and Senators have been able to claim back more than €35,000 in expenses for the purchase of high-end mobile phones, earbuds, and tech accessories over the past year and a half.
The Houses of the Oireachtas said a total of €35,153 had been spent on the allowance, which allows politicians to claim up to €750 against the cost of a new device every eighteen months.
Copies of invoices show that of the 54 claim forms submitted since the beginning of 2023, 27 were for the full allowance.
Among the claims was one by Junior Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill who claimed back expenditure of €680, which took place just prior to her being appointed as a minister of state.
A copy of the Fine Gael TD’s invoices shows purchase of an iPhone 14 with a once-off charge of €379.99 and a set of ivory-coloured Powerbeats Pro True Wireless Earbuds that cost €299.95.
Fianna Fáil Senator Lisa Chambers paid €1,449 for an iPhone 15 Pro Max with 256 Gigabytes of memory in January of this year, according to receipts released under FOI.
However, only half of that was refundable by the Oireachtas with the scheme capped at €750 per member.
In July of last year, the Fine Gael Senator, and current MEP, Regina Doherty submitted a claim form of €828.99, with €750 of that eligible for repayment.
That offset the cost of a €529.99 iPhone 14 Plus, a €12.99 monthly insurance plan, and a €299 outlay on a set of Apple Airpods.
Former Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan was refunded €750 of the €905 that he paid out for a new device in April of last year.
An invoice submitted along with the claim form showed that this covered an €869.99 iPhone 14 and a famously sturdy Otterbox case that cost the Fine Gael TD €34.90.
While Apple devices seemed most popular among Oireachtas members, some opted for other brands.
Fine Gael’s Emer Higgins, who has since been appointed a junior minister, submitted a claim for €750 for a Samsung S22 that cost €977.99 along with a case and screen protector.
One of the priciest purchases was the €1,619 that was paid by Fianna Fáil’s John McGuinness for an iPhone 15 Pro with a whopping 512 gigabytes of memory.
The phone was bought from the Harvey Norman chain with Mr. McGuinness’ claim capped at €750 under the terms of the Oireachtas allowance.
One device was bought from a retailer in Ho Chi Minh City, according to invoices released under the Freedom of Information Act.
Independent TD Denis Naughten bought his midnight-style iPhone 14 from a Vietnamese provider for 18.97 million dong, which at the time worked out as the equivalent of €755.76.
Not all Oireachtas members were interested in top-of-the-range phones with one TD spending just €245 on a second-hand mobile.
Former minister Michael Creed of Fine Gael paid that sum for a “pre-owned” iPhone 8 with a five-month warranty that was bought in May of last year.
The €750 phone payment is separate to the public representation allowance, which is paid annually to the tune of €20,350 for TDs and €12,225 for Senators, and which covers office expenses, other telephony, room hire, newsletters, and a wide range of other spending.
An information note on the scheme for mobile devices said: “This scheme allows members to buy a mobile phone and car kit from a provider of their choice and claim back the cost of the equipment to a maximum of €750 in an 18-month period.
“The costs covered include the purchase of a handset, car kit, yearly insurance premium, maintenance and miscellaneous expenses.
“In order to be reimbursed, members must complete a claim form and provide supporting receipts.”
A briefing from EirGrid, which operates the electricity network in Ireland, warned of a possible “mass exodus” of data centres from the country if new connection agreements could not be signed off on.
The presentation said EirGrid had been warning of pressures on power supply since as early as 2016 and had escalated that to Minister Eamon Ryan in 2021 warning the country had a significant power “generation deficit”.
It said they had good working relationships with technology companies but were “being continually asked” about the likelihood of firm plans for new connection agreements.
Because of ongoing uncertainty, the briefing warned: “The big concern is that some of the large data centres decide to exit Ireland and that, in turn, leads to a mass exodus (as has happened previously in other technology sectors).
“[This would undermine] the government’s desire to benefit from the next phase of technological development in the ICT sector in Ireland (AI etc.)”
It said data was a “critical 21st century enabler of business and living” and that Ireland needed a “credible transition plan – not a shutdown”.
Asked about the briefing, a spokesperson for EirGrid said their responsibility was for a safe, secure and reliable supply of electricity now and in the future.
They said: “We recognise that electricity supply is only one consideration in setting large energy user connection policy, which requires a holistic and plan-led approach taking account of all challenges and opportunities.”
The spokesperson added: “In regards to future connections, while EirGrid participates in calls to support policy development, the connection of large energy users to the transmission system is currently aligned and will in future continue to align with relevant direction from the CRU [Commission for Regulation of Utilities]. EirGrid acts as directed in this area.”
A health and safety assessment of an encampment of asylum seekers along Dublin’s Grand Canal said “slips, trips, and falls” were inevitable beside deceptively dangerous water and that tightly packed tents, some with containers full of urine, could cause an outbreak of disease.
The safety evaluation said the number of tents could not even be counted accurately due to the “sheer volume” of them and the use of large tarpaulin sheets as cover from the elements.
The assessment by Waterways Ireland said that canals can be “deceptively dangerous” with deep water, thick sediment and steep slopes.
It said there were ropes criss-crossing each other from tents as well as make-shift washing lines, all of which created a hazard for occupants and members of the public.
The file said: “Slips, trips and falls are inevitable and should a person or persons end up in the canal serious injury or a fatality may occur.”
Waterways Ireland warned as well of a public health risk and said that while volunteers were helping occupants with rubbish bins, there were “no washing or toilet facilities”.
The assessment said: “A number of containers have been noticed and seem to contain urine. A strong odour was also prevalent on site particularly at the lock structures.
“With tents packed in so tightly and given the lack of welfare facilities the risk exists of a potential outbreak of disease.”
Asked about the records, a spokeswoman said: “Waterways Ireland is committed to fully re-opening all sections of the Grand Canal where temporary fencing has been erected.
“Having to erect barriers along the canal is not something we had ever envisaged. We acknowledge that the current fencing situation along a stretch of the canal is not ideal, but it is necessary to mitigate risk to health and safety which is our overriding concern.”
She said they had met with local resident groups and were looking at all options on how they might fully reopen the Grand Canal banks.
Plans for a major reform of the system for recording the attendance of TDs and Senators for clocking in and clocking out from Leinster House were quietly dropped despite requests from Minister Michael McGrath.
In a letter to the Oireachtas, Mr McGrath said the expenses checking system needed to be reformed as a “priority” with the possibility of smartphone apps, iris scanning, or facial recognition all to be considered.
In another piece of draft correspondence, the minister also queried whether TDs or Senators fobbing in once per day was enough to ensure that politicians were “actually in attendance” in Leinster House.
The discussions followed a series of controversies over the clock-in system which included ‘Votegate’ where some TDs were recorded as voting even though they were not in the Dáil chamber at the time.
Separately, the former Fine Gael TD Dara Murphy was able to claim his full €4,300-per-month travel and accommodation allowance despite having another full-time job in Brussels.
A public clamour for reform of the clock-in system in 2020 and 2021 led to the Oireachtas commissioning an outside expert to review how the system worked.
The Department of Public Expenditure had previously refused to release any records about the review, saying the matter remained under deliberation.
However, three years later, the only change ever made was the installation of cameras at locations where TDs and Senators clock in while there is still no obligation to clock out to obtain a full day’s attendance, even though it is counted towards payment of allowances that can be up to €34,000 every year.
In a letter in December 2020, Finance Minister Michael McGrath – who was then at the Department of Public Expenditure – said all options needed to be on the table to restore public faith in the Oireachtas.
He wrote: “Any change to the current system should lead to greater transparency [and] unequivocally verify the attendance of members in a manner which promotes public confidence.”
He said advances in technology could be used to create a much more robust system for checking if TDs and Senators were genuinely at work.
Mr McGrath wrote: “For example, many smartphones have either fingerprint or facial recognition security access mechanisms built in.”
He added: “The use of facial or iris identification may be preferable to fingerprint recognition given its contactless and non-invasive nature. This is something we have all become more conscious of during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
In a later draft letter, Mr McGrath said the existing system had “given rise to a perception that the expenses regime is open to abuse and this perception must be addressed as a matter of priority.”
In it, he called for a new transparent system that showed the “real attendance of members” and said that expecting people to clock in and clock out could not be considered “unduly onerous”.
The minister also suggested that the range of reasons TDs and Senators could use to later claim attendance if they had not fobbed in on a specific day should be examined.
“It is suggested that these should be more limited than they are at present and include an element to ensure that the member is in Leinster House for a reasonable period,” Mr McGrath.
“Again, this would support public confidence in the regime.”
Further submissions and correspondence on the topic have been withheld by the Department of Public Expenditure under Freedom of Information laws.
However, no major changes were ever introduced, and it is still the case that TDs and Senators only need to fob in once-per-day without any further checks.
The Department of Public Expenditure also released a heavily redacted review of the clock-in system, which was finalised in February 2021 but never published.
It involved looking at what other parliaments did, looking at the market for biometrics, and consultation with members of the Oireachtas.
The report said: “Facial identification or facial verification at the point of registration is most likely to give the highest level of public confidence.”
It said that “certainty of identity” should be the primary factor in any new system but that there was no system that was “100% fool proof”.
The report also said data protection concerns would need to be addressed but that a database of photographs of TDs and Senators was unlikely to be problematic given their pictures were already published on the Oireachtas website.
However, the final conclusions and recommendations in the report have been withheld on the basis it could “weaken the state’s bargaining position” if they did ever decide to go ahead with the plan.
A statement from the Department of Public Expenditure, which released the records, said: “The system for validation of Oireachtas attendance is a matter for the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission in the first instance.”
Sentencing terms for Molly Martens who was jailed for the brutal killing of her Irish husband Jason Corbett said she had acted under “strong provocation” and that she had previously been a “person of good character”.
A checklist of “mitigating factors” for Ms Martens, which governed her release from prison, said that she had acted under duress, because of coercion, under threat and compulsion.
It said none of these reasons were enough to “constitute a defence” but that each of them had “significantly reduced the defendant’s culpability.”
Another item on the checklist of her sentencing terms was ticked off saying: “The defendant acted under strong provocation.”
It said that Ms Martens had been of good character up until the killing of her husband and that she had a “good reputation” in the community in which she lived.
The determination was signed off by the person who oversaw her trial, Superior Court Judge David Hall in a document entitled ‘Felony Judgment: Findings of Aggravating and Mitigating Factors (Structured Sentencing).’
It said that Molly Martens had a support system outside of jail and that a mitigated sentence was justified based on the evidence and arguments given at trial and in a sentencing hearing.
A lengthy list of factors that could have aggravated the offence were also detailed in the documents, but a box at the end was instead ticked stating: “There are no findings of any aggravating factors.”
A separate form signed off by Judge Hall called a ‘Judgment and Commitment Active Punishment – Felony (Structured Sentencing)’ said Ms Martens was prohibited from having any contact whatsoever with the victim’s family.
It also said an immediate assessment should be conducted to see if Ms Martens was a suicide risk and that all available mental health services be offered.
The form said: “[She] is to receive a psychiatric evaluation by a medical doctor – not a psychologist – and thereafter, be afforded any treatment that may be indicated as a product of that evaluation.
“The defendant is to be provided all opportunities to continue her education.”
The records were released by the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction following a Freedom of Information Act request about how an incorrect date for her release had been announced late last year.
The Central Bank spent more than €350,000 hosting a five-day ‘retreat’ for a visiting delegation of senior bankers from the European Union.
The enormous spend, which covered five-star accommodation, golf buggies, presentation mints, a hurling display and VIP airport costs, included a €193,000 bill from the exclusive Mount Juliet resort in Co Kilkenny.
The ‘retreat’ for the 26-strong governing council of the European Central Bank and 22 officials and support staff was held amid tight security at the Kilkenny estate in May with a private security consultancy paid almost €23,000.
Overall, accommodation costs came to €195,000 while €117,500 was spent on official transport, including more than thirty individual bills for platinum service from Dublin Airport.
Itemised spending released following a Freedom of Information request shows that €1,400 was spent on Parker branded pens while €276 was spent on boxes of promotional mint sweets.
There was an outlay of just over €5,700 on green A4 folio notebooks from a handmade leather company, €120 for embossed bookmarks, and €200 spent on “logo plates” for use during the event.
Over half of the bill came from the Mount Juliet Estate where charges included €1,480 for buggy and golf buggy hire, €1,500 for a “hurling demonstration”, and €1,800 for a traditional band.