TheStory.ie

Almost €19 million was paid in allowances to prison staff last year, including extra payments for operating tuck shops, wearing plain clothes, handling dogs, and answering telephones.

Irish Prison Service figures show €64,000 was paid to 23 staff under a “tuck shop” allowance in 2025.

Another €79,000 was provided in plain-clothes allowances to 185 employees, while 78 staff shared just over €12,000 in telephone payments.

Dog-handling allowances worth €27,000 were paid to twenty workers, according to records released under FOI.

The largest individual category was an operational allowance, which cost roughly €15.7 million and was shared among 3,684 staff.

That works out at around €4,250 per employee per year, the data showed.

Environment allowances were the next most expensive at almost €624,000 and were paid to 353 employees.

These include payments for working at high-security Portlaoise Prison, reflecting the historical and additional dangers of dealing with paramilitary and gangland prisoners.

Nurse officers received roughly €496,000 in allowances, with the money divided among 75 employees.

There were also payments of more than €253,500 for court-escort duties and €175,000 in driving allowances.

The driving payments were made to 978 members of staff, while a separate driving and handyman allowance cost almost €10,900.

A total of €67,000 was spent on gate allowances, with another €68,000 paid under a category for reception duties.

Thirteen staff shared more than €92,000 in unspecified miscellaneous allowances, an average of around €7,100 each.

Nine employees received acting allowances totalling €117,000, equivalent to a per-person payment of almost €13,000.

On-call allowances cost €68,000 and were paid to twelve staff, while 75 detail assistants shared payments worth just over €228,000.

The figures also included a series of allowances for governors, assistant governors and chief officers.

Assistant governor duty allowances cost almost €257,000, while a separate payment category for governors came to more than €263,000.

Allowances for chief officer duties added a further €135,000 to the overall bill.

The total cost of the allowance payments listed by the Irish Prison Service was around €18.8 million.

Almost €70,000 was spent on everything from antique curtain repairs to George Foreman grills at the State’s guesthouse for VIPs.

The bill at the Farmleigh estate in Dublin included €10,500 for 88 roller blinds and more than €12,500 for a commercial dishwasher and glass washer.

Five garment steamers were also purchased along with fridges, microwaves, kettles, sandwich toasters and countertop grilling machines.

The Office of Public Works also paid €3,842 for a portrait bought at auction, according to records released under FOI.

The painting had a hammer price of €3,000, with a €750 buyer’s premium and further charges bringing the final bill higher.

Three Humanscale office chairs costing a combined €1,517 were among the other purchases for the Phoenix Park estate.

However, the largest expense involved conservation work on elaborate silk curtains dating from the 19th century.

Invoices show around €30,000 was spent on the conservation and rehanging of the ‘portières’, including €9,680 for work on one curtain and the installation of new hanging boards.

The embroidered silk curtains date from the construction of Farmleigh’s ballroom in 1889 and are considered a rare example of their type.

According to background information from the OPW, the only comparable set in Ireland is at Iveagh House, the headquarters of the Department of Foreign Affairs.

The OPW said the work involved was “painstaking” and required specialist expertise.

A further £4,000 sterling was spent on the conservation and gilding of window seats at Farmleigh.

Invoices also detail around €1,700 in repairs to antique rugs and runners.

The work included dealing with moth damage, holes, tears, worn areas and edges that had begun to deteriorate.

The 88 roller blinds were installed across several parts of the building, including its ground floor, first floor and billiard room.

The commercial dishwashing equipment cost €12,543, which included installation.

Farmleigh was bought by the State from the Guinness family in 1999 for €29.2 million and underwent a €23 million restoration before reopening in 2001.

It is used as official accommodation for visiting heads of state, royalty and other VIP guests, as well as for government meetings and public events.

The almost €70,000 in spending covered the period between January 2025 and May of this year.

Asked about the expenditure, the OPW said it had nothing further to add.

Faulty equipment, malfunctioning machinery, electrical problems, and medical radiation incidents were among almost 950 reports logged across the health service in the past two years.

HSE records show 49 equipment-related cases where somebody needed medical treatment and almost 150 where an injury or illness required first aid.

A further 157 reports involved injuries that did not need first aid.

More than 200 other incidents were classified as near misses, while a small number of cases – fewer than five – were classed as Category 1 or “extreme” on the health service reporting system.

The HSE said most incidents that resulted in harm were staff-related, while most no-harm or near-miss incidents involved patients and service users.

A breakdown of cases showed 74 involving electrical issues while 13 were linked to medical radiation procedures.

The documents showed the highest number of cases, 783 in total, were classified as issues with “mechanical components.”

There were a further 12 cases involving fire, 23 linked to medications, and 17 that were categorised as “care management.”

A small number of incidents were also logged involving surgical procedures, blood products, and chemical products.

However, the HSE said that where case numbers were five or fewer, it would not provide exact figures in case individuals could be identified.

A separate breakdown of the 948 cases by “problem” showed the overwhelming majority were categorised as “defective equipment.”

Other cases were linked to the failure or malfunction of equipment, with a small number of cases – fewer than five – classified as “diagnostic exposure greater than intended.”

The HSE said harm was not always directly attributable to equipment issues and said the data should be considered in light of limitations around incident classification and reporting.

Ambulance crews were delayed reaching emergency calls after onboard sat-nav systems sent them to incorrect addresses, location information disappeared, or maps did not include new housing developments.

In one incident in Mayo, an ambulance ended up on the opposite side of a river from the correct address and an eighteen-minute drive from where they were supposed to be.

A patient’s “life survival” was compromised in another case after the crew were given the wrong address and ended up delayed by twenty minutes.

Other cases saw ambulances routed down roads where there was no access to the patient, according to a log of incidents covering the past two years.

In one case involving a pregnant woman in Kerry, the emergency response had the correct Eircode, but the onboard system brought them to the wrong location.

A separate report from Donegal said an urgent call was delayed by an extra ten minutes because the vehicle’s sat-nav system “loses the hit” as they approached.

One entry from the log said: “The location of the incident was on a main road but the sat nav decided that it wanted to go down a laneway too small for the vehicle.

“While trying to find the incident the call was upgraded. Delayed crew arrival.”

Another report from Sligo said: “Sat Nav in vehicle directed to incorrect location to housing estate adjoining patient address. No access to incident location.

“Drove around again to correct address while satnav continually was directing to incorrect address.”

In one case involving a “dangerous haemorrhage” in Limerick, the ambulance was sent down a cul-de-sac nearby to where they were supposed to go.

One entry in the log explained how a trip ended up taking twice as long as expected.

“Journey to patient took 1 hour and 3 mins. Google was 27 min journey,” it said. “Sat Nav took us on a very convoluted road that couldn’t find the location.”

Another report from Donegal said recent changes to the location system were creating problems.

It said: “Recently the vehicle mapping system has been updated on the ambulance fleet. This update needs to be removed and updated with new Eircode version as this is affecting patient care.”

Asked about the issues, the National Ambulance Service said it received more than 450,000 calls every year and such incidents were “rare.”

A statement said: “When they do occur, wayfinding notes [and/or] pins are added to addresses once reported.”

The NAS said it had used the Eircode system since 2016 to ensure rapid and accurate identification of emergency locations but that it also used other location tools and techniques to pinpoint callouts.

It said this included caller questioning and local geographic knowledge and that its systems and processes for dispatch were under continual review.

A government department said multiple people had refused a role as chair of An Coimisiún Pleanála because the fee was too low.

In a business case, the Department of Housing said the existing rate of €20,520 would not attract a suitable candidate and sought a €50,000 annual payment instead.

It said An Coimisiún Pleanála – renamed from An Bord Pleanála – had been through a period of intense controversy.

The business case said the planning board needed somebody without any conflict of interest and who did not have any other “paid commitments or roles.”

The former chief executive of the HSE Paul Reid was subsequently appointed to the role.

The internal records said efforts had been underway since November 2024 to find a “suitably qualified and experienced candidate.”

A campaign by publicjobs had identified one suitable person, but they withdrew their name for consideration.

The business case said: “Several potential candidates have been approached since, however in most cases these candidates have said they are unable to take up the position due to the need to give up consultancy work and other paid board positions, and consequent loss of income.”

It explained how the current fee for chairperson was set in January 2010 at a rate of €20,520 per year.

With inflation factored in, that would have worked out at around €26,922 based on the Consumer Price Index.

A higher fee was payable for certain public bodies at €29,888 “which would be equivalent to €39,213 today,” the business case said.

It added: “In the fifteen years since these fees were set, the real value of the fees has diminished considerably.

“In that time, the challenges facing organisations such as An Bord/Coimisiún Pleanála have continued to increase, and there is widespread acknowledgement of the need for suitably skilled and dedicated individuals to be attracted.”

It said it was “imperative” that the person chosen would dedicate themselves to the role without any hint of conflict of interest or bias.

The business case explained this would preclude them from being on the board of any other public body or private company.

“In approaching candidates for Chairperson, the current fee has been identified as a barrier to accepting the role, in combination with the loss of income that would result from the need for exclusive commitment,” it added.

It said this would be a “unique condition” for An Coimisiún Pleanála and would be paid on an “exceptional basis.”

Last June, the Department of Public Expenditure responded to say they were willing to approve a fee of €40,000 for the role.

However, it gave the Minister for Housing James Browne “discretion and sanction” to raise it to €50,000 if he deemed it necessary to find a suitable candidate.

It said the fee would also be reviewed at the end of the new chair’s first period in office.

A later letter from Minister Jack Chambers to the Housing Minister said: “I understand and share your commitment to ensuring An Coimisiún Pleanála can meet its statutory targets for planning decisions.

“The timely and efficient processing of planning applications is crucial for the delivery of housing and infrastructure projects.”

Asked about the records, the Department of Housing said they had nothing further to add.

In a major u-turn, the Commissioner for Environmental Information has decided that release of information on travel by the President of Ireland would be a risk to public security.

The CEI had previously decided that information on government jet use by the President should be released by the Department of Defence.

However, in a complete reversal of that – the office has said the information should not be public because it would adversely affect public security.

In a decision, CEI Ger Deering wrote: “I accept that I have a general obligation to act consistently by treating like cases alike, unless there is good reason for not doing so.”

He said a Supreme Court judgment involving Right to Know and the Office of the President and the Council of State had changed the circumstances of the request.

Mr Deering wrote: “In summary, I understand the Supreme Court’s judgment in the President case to mean that the constitutional immunity of the President is of such fundamental importance to the Irish Constitution, that undermining it would adversely affect public security.

“Taking all of the above into account, I accept that the request for information in this case amounts to an indirect request to the President’s office for information concerning the exercise of presidential functions, the disclosure of which would undermine the constitutional immunity of the President.”

This was one of the last small windows of transparency into the Office of the President, which has now been firmly shut.

An Garda Síochána overpaid officers and civilian staff to the tune of €4.25 million in salary payments over the past three years.

At the end of last year, the balance still outstanding from overpayments had risen to more than €2.8 million.

Internal audit committee papers said the majority of the cases were linked to sickness absence, with late notification of pay changes identified as a root cause.

One briefing note said the force had discovered cases where its overpayments unit “did not receive any notification” that staff had been overpaid.

Another said a manual process had left “too many opportunities for errors,” according to records that were released under FOI.

The new figures show that €1 million in overpayments were made to 487 gardaí last year, an average of around €2,100 per person.

A further €406,000 was overpaid to 204 civilian staff, roughly €2,000 each.

The amount of money recouped from gardaí last year was just €549,000 with another €174,000 recovered from garda staff.

The end-of-year balance of overpayments for gardaí was €2.18 million with a further €665,000 owed by civilian employees.

That year-end balance has risen steadily over the past three years from €2.29 million in 2023 to €2.53 million in 2024, before rising again to €2.84 million last year.

Documents from An Garda Síochána’s audit and risk committee said around two-thirds of the cases related to illness.

A government department objected to allocating up to 190 extra staff to the energy and water regulator, saying it would create more red tape and make it even harder to deliver infrastructure.

In discussions, the Department of Public Expenditure agreed the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) should be allowed to increase its headcount by sixty.

However, it heavily opposed plans for a near doubling of staff numbers, saying they did not want “an increase in the intensity of regulation and oversight in the electricity, gas and water sectors.”

A department submission said this would run contrary to Government policy towards a more streamlined approach to providing infrastructure.

The document said: “The Vote Section has engaged extensively and are recommending an increase of 60 staff in CRU’s headcount (+30%) to meet key regulatory pressures, (substantially lower than the original ask of 190), provided they are recruited on a phased basis in the coming years.”

Officials said this should also be the last such request from the CRU for extra resources for “a significant period of time.”

The submission detailed how the commission had submitted a workforce plan in January of last year that would have increased staffing to 387.

It said in December last year, the Department of Public Expenditure had sanctioned six extra staff to help with work on an offshore wind project.

Subsequent requests were submitted so that the CRU could urgently recruit 67 new staff, with a further 22 posts sought to fulfil other requirements.

It added: “The Vote Section … had concerns with the original request’s alignment with Government policy to reduce barriers to infrastructure development, as a potential increase in the intensity of regulation and oversight in the electricity, water and gas sectors could potentially act as a blockage.”

The submission said the CRU would need new staff to deal with plans for a tripling of electricity network investment in the coming years.

It said given the scale of what was involved, it seemed “reasonable” that there would be an increase in the level of regulatory oversight.

However, the Department of Public Expenditure was given assurances this would not block the development of infrastructure.

Officials said the increase in staffing would be much smaller than what was initially suggested and that new hires would be recruited in key areas.

The submission concluded: “As such, the Vote Section is recommending an increase in CRU’s headcount to facilitate an additional 60 staff from the existing ask of 89. “The full increase of 89 is not being recommended as not all priorities in the revised ask are equally justified.”

RTÉ recorded nearly three dozen incidents last year involving threatening phone calls, stalking and harassment of staff, as well as trespassing and a physical assault.

An internal health and safety report said there had been 34 cases of “third-party violence” recorded during the first nine months of 2025.

It said there had been 16 cases involving threats made over the phone and a further four threatening emails to staff members.

There were four reports of stalking or harassment, and three cases of verbal abuse, threats, or aggression towards employees.

Two threatening social media posts were also logged as well as three cases of anti-social behaviour directed at staff.

There was a single case of physical assault – described as pushing or shoving in the report, which was released under FOI.

A further one-off case of trespassing was logged by RTÉ’s health and safety team, according to the records.

The report said threatening phone calls were the most common type of incident and that victims were supported in making formal reports, and if necessary, complaints to An Garda Síochána.

It said the impact of third-party violence on staff could have a significant effect and needed to be carefully managed to prevent future occurrences.

The report warned employees could suffer from anxiety and stress, as well as PTSD, a fear of working with third parties or in the field and worry about family members being affected.

It also said there was a risk of “sleeping problems and fatigue,” emotional exhaustion, depression, and physical and emotional burnout.

The RTÉ document said recording such incidents was essential for identifying hazards, assessing risks, and developing control measures to protect staff.

The report said tracking incidents would help the broadcaster identify trends, develop targeted response plans, and fulfil its legal obligations to ensure a safe and healthy work environment.

The analysis also detailed 15 accidents, one of which required statutory reporting to the Health and Safety Authority.

This included four incidents where a staff member was struck by a falling or moving object.

There were three cases where somebody “hit against something fixed or stationary” and a further three slips, trips, and falls.

Also logged were two cases of “twisting or turning of the body,” two of physical stress or strain, and one hot liquid spill.

The report catalogued 18 other near miss reports, seven illnesses, and three “undesirable circumstances” including incidents like static shock or a stolen vehicle.

It said injury accidents were more likely to involve male employees and that this would be used for targeted interventions.

The report explained how gender could sometimes be a risk factor in accidents more generally, including the higher likelihood of male drivers speeding or engaging in other risky behaviours.

“Understanding the gender of individuals involved in accidents helps create tailored safety campaigns by highlighting different risk factors,” it said.

The health and safety team said it had also carried out assessments on sensitive content exposure and third-party violence.

It had also looked at other risk areas including indoor air quality, noise exposure, driving for work, electromagnetic fields, and lead-containing materials.

Overall, the report said there had been 78 work-related incidents reported by RTÉ in the first nine months of 2025.

The number of accidents reported is on course to fall, however, with 15 recorded in the first nine months of last year compared to 32 in all of 2024 and 37 in 2023.

Asked about the report, a spokeswoman said: “RTÉ takes the safety and wellbeing of our employees very seriously. Third party violence and threats towards employees are not acceptable or tolerated.

“Preventing and managing third-party violence is a core part of RTÉ’s safety management system, supported by risk assessment, training, employee supports, and ongoing liaison with An Garda Síochána.”

A local authority said buying a guesthouse for a reported €6 million would pay for itself within seven years because of the sky-high cost of providing homeless accommodation.

Dublin City Council bought the twenty-bedroom Avondale House on Gardiner Street late last year saying it was the most cost-effective solution for emergency housing.

An appraisal report said the investment would result in a “permanent public asset” and would reduce dependency on the private sector.

It said while direct short-term contracts with hotels and B&Bs could be quickly deployed when demand spiked, there was a “high cost” involved.

Long-term leasing also provided certainty about accommodation but “the long-term cost exceeds the cost of purchasing a similar property.”

The report said rapid or modular housing could be put in place quickly but was generally “lower quality [and a] shorter term solution.”

In documents submitted to the Department of Housing, Dublin City Council said the new property could be adapted and specifically developed for emergency or transitional housing.

It added: “This approach builds public confidence in the state’s role in addressing homelessness and aligns with Housing for All and Housing First principles.”

The city council withheld the exact purchase price of the property saying it was commercially sensitive.

However, the guesthouse had a guide price of around €5.75 million when put up for sale, and it has been reported that it was bought for €6 million.

The appraisal report said the two interconnected properties were purchased in late 2023 by the previous owner following around “five years of vacancy.”

It said they had since been fully refurbished and upgraded.

The report said the site was “exceptionally well-served” by healthcare facilities and multiple public transport options.

It added: “All rooms have been upgraded in terms of electrical and mechanical fitout and finished to a high standard.

“The integration of bathrooms and services has been carefully balanced with the retention and restoration of historic features.”

The report explained that the property was very well suited to the provision of homeless accommodation given its location.

It said there was excellent security provision and external, secure, private amenity areas for residents housed there.

The property would be easy to manage while “remaining large enough to be cost-effective.”

“Crucially, the scheme is vacant and can provide a rapid move-in option to relieve pressure on emergency housing, particularly as the winter approaches,” said the report.

It said that if the homelessness crisis eased, the property could be repurposed for transitional housing.

The report added: “Based on … projections, the capital cost will be paid back over seven years approximately.

“On completion of the purchase, the new emergency accommodation can become operational within four to six weeks as only minor fitout throughout the building would be required (beds and furniture).”

It said Dublin City Council would also be moving from some other nearby accommodation “thereby not further contributing to the over-concentration of services” in the north inner city.