TheStory.ie

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.

Members of the public submitted nearly 19,000 tip-offs last year about welfare fraud alleging use of fraudulent identities, claims for dead people, and benefits getting paid to people in prison.

Figures from the Department of Social Protection show that the largest number of complaints were that people were drawing down welfare payments while working.

In that category, just over 7,100 tip-offs were received, according to data released under FOI.

There were a further 3,600 complaints alleging welfare recipients were living with a partner while claiming the One-Parent Family Payment.

The department received 80 tip-offs last year that claims were being made on behalf of people who were deceased.

A further 38 reports alleged welfare supports were being claimed for a person who was in prison.

A total of 449 tip-offs related to non-payment of PRSI by employers while there were 1,316 allegations that a person was in receipt of welfare despite no longer residing in the Republic.

The department also received 1,930 reports about individuals who had not disclosed the full extent of their assets to qualify for a payment.

There were 1,119 cases where an allegation was made that a person was claiming carer’s supports but was not actually looking after anybody.

A total of 509 reports related to “using a fraudulent identity” while around 2,600 cases were not classified in any specific category.

The Department of Social Protection offers an anonymous service allowing people to make reports of possible fraud.

The majority of tip-offs were submitted using the department’s website, with 13,074 of the 18,792 reports made that way.

Around 2,250 people made allegations of fraud by email while 571 sent a letter outlining their concerns.

The department also reported around 2,900 tip-offs that came in over the phone. A note on their website said: “All reports are dealt with in confidence.”

It said that providing as much detail as possible would help in any investigation.

For people working and claiming, they suggest giving the employer’s name and address, when they started, the type of work involved, and the number of days they work.

In claims relating to prisoners, they seek the name, age, and address of the person involved and when they were sent to jail.

The department also said any reports that suggested a child or vulnerable adult was at risk would be referred to Tusla if appropriate.

Reports could also be shared with other State agencies where “a crime or misappropriation of public funds” was suspected.

The figures do show that a large number of allegations never result in any action by social welfare inspectors.

Of the 18,405 cases recorded as dealt with in 2025, only around 5,400 were referred for further investigation.

There were around 13,000 tip-offs that were closed with no further action, according to the records released.

It is understood this could be for a variety of reasons including a lack of sufficient information, incorrect information, and occasional bogus reports.

Asked about the data, a spokesperson said every report was given a preliminary examination for relevance and to identify the person concerned.

They said: “Where a person can be identified and sufficient information is provided to warrant a further examination, the report is referred to the relevant scheme area in the Department or to a Social Welfare Inspector for further investigation.

“A payment is not suspended or stopped based on the report received. The report received provides a ‘trigger’ for the instigation of a review of a specific entitlement and further investigation if that is warranted.”

The spokesperson added that the tip-offs, given their “hearsay nature,” did not form part of the final decision-making process when a case was considered.

The head of the Irish Prison Service (IPS) sought an urgent meeting with justice officials after warning overcrowded jails could not cope with large groups of immigration detainees being held before charter deportation flights.

Internal records show the warning was issued after more than a dozen South African women were held at the Dóchas Centre for over a fortnight at a time the jail was already operating at 151 percent capacity.

At the same time, the IPS had to accommodate an extra 19 deportees in Dublin’s Cloverhill Prison, where 34 other inmates were already sleeping on mattresses on the floor.

The correspondence was sent in February, with the Director General of the IPS, Caron McCaffrey, saying the system simply did “not have the ability to cope.”

The IPS had initially refused to release the records and only did so following an appeal under Freedom of Information laws.

Ms McCaffrey’s message said: “We have 14 women being lodged in the Dóchas and to be kept for over two weeks pending deportation.

“The prison is already beyond its limits in terms of numbers – we have 221 women with a capacity for 146 and are operating at 151 percent.”

Ms McCaffrey said it was a similar story at the country’s main remand prison where 19 men were to be held ahead of a deportation operation to South Africa in late February.

The message continued: “In terms of Cloverhill, there are 19 deportees to be accommodated … as you know we have 469 in custody today with a capacity of 433 and 34 men on the floor.”

She said a meeting was needed to discuss the implications of holding “large groups of immigration detainees” in already overcrowded prisons.

The documents also reveal how little notice was being given to the Irish Prison Service about the arrival of deportees.

An internal message said: “For your information – 33 South African nationals arrested by An Garda Síochána today. 14 being lodged in Dóchas as we speak. 19 to go to Cloverhill. They will be removed on 28 February.”

A response said: “For your information. Removal date on 28 February. Discretion advised on removal date.”

An hour later, Ms McCaffrey wrote to the Department of Justice with her warning that the Irish Prison Service was not able to cope.

On the day before the €585,000 deportation flight to South Africa, there were more than 6,600 people in the Irish prison system.

That included 554 people left sleeping on mattresses – including 43 in the Dóchas women’s prison.

A further 602 people were on temporary release, of whom 118 were on temporary release from the Dóchas Centre.

Overall, the prison service was operating at 123 percent of its capacity, according to daily data published by the IPS.

The inside of Ireland’s new €53 million government jet has been fitted out with cream coloured executive-style seating, polished wood panelling, cabin tables, and sofa-style seating.

New pictures show the interior of the Falcon 6X aircraft as it neared completion at a Dassault Aviation facility in the United States last year.

The images show a high-end cabin including a galley area, individual passenger seats, fold-out tables, a divan-style sofa, and private washroom facilities.

A status report from Dassault Aviation said the interior installation was around 90 percent complete by mid-September.

It said the final upholstery of the seats had been completed and that the seats had been fitted in the aircraft.

The work took place at Dassault FalconJet in Little Rock, Arkansas, according to records released under FOI.

Dassault Aviation was responsible for the design of the interior, while Dassault FalconJet in the United States handled the installation.

The Defence Forces said they did not have a breakdown of the aircraft’s overall price showing the separate cost of the base aircraft, interior fit-out, or completion works.

No extra changes or bespoke elements were sought for the jet, the Defence Forces confirmed.

An information note said: “There were no additional modifications to the interior design fit-out.

“As the aircraft was on the production line at the time of procurement, any alterations to the specification would have caused significant delays to the project delivery.”

The Defence Forces said this would have conflicted with the objective of acquiring the aircraft before the end of 2025.

They said there was no high-level correspondence between them and the Department of Defence around the interior or configuration.

“The project team was a mix of Air Corps and [Department] staff. The Air Corps members … did not correspond directly with any [Department] official outside of the project team,” said the note.

The aircraft has already been used on at least ten occasions for ministerial transport since March.

Six of the ten missions listed online by the Department of Defence were for the Taoiseach, two for the Minister for Defence, one for the Minister for Foreign Affairs, and one for the Minister for Communications.

The longest trip was the St Patrick’s Day excursion to Philadelphia and Washington DC in March for Micheál Martin and his delegation with 1,010 minutes – or roughly 17 hours – of flying time.

The €53 million jet has also travelled to Madrid, Helsinki, Berlin, and Athens.

The Department of Defence said it had not yet calculated an average hourly operating cost for the aircraft.

In response to a separate FOI request, it said this was done based on a “full year of operational service.”

A decision explained: “This is considered standard for professional financial reporting to ensure the metric accurately reflects a complete cycle of maintenance, fuel usage, and operational mission profiles.”

A senior HSE official warned ambulance handover delays at emergency departments were a “significant patient safety risk” with systemic problems at several hospital sites.

Internal records detail how HSE deputy chief executive Damien McCallion said an ambulance stuck at an emergency department meant another patient waiting for help was at risk.

The documents also show plans for a Hospital Ambulance Liaison Supervisor service – designed to reduce handover delays – had repeatedly failed to receive permanent funding or staffing despite requests over four winters.

It said where it had been introduced on an ad hoc basis, significant improvements in getting ambulances back on the road were evident.

A briefing note said: “Out of the 34 hospitals listed, 19 hospitals showed an average improvement of 7%. The best was a 20% improvement in Cork University Hospital.”

However, repeated efforts to fully fund and resource a handover service failed, according to records released under FOI.

Last winter, the National Ambulance Service (NAS) experimented with using staff who were deemed unfit for their core role by occupational health.

An email said the CEO of the HSE had asked for three acute sites to be supported every day during the busy winter period.

It said the NAS was also supplementing alternative-duty staff with overtime when they could secure volunteers.

The message said: “Feedback from most acute colleagues highlights the benefits of the role which is now well established in many ambulance services across the UK.

“This is the fourth winter where there has been continued requests for NAS to place [handover staff] on site, however, the role remains unfunded (WTE [whole-time staff] or funding).”

The email also warned the current informal system was “unsustainable in the longer term.”

It said: “Given the specific skill set required, we need to select the right people for the role, and with the input of acute colleagues.”

In another email, a senior HSE official said hospitals were a “long way off” targets for hospital handovers of less than 20 minutes.

It said the health service needed to monitor “any outliers” with one hour plus transfers and facilities with consistent delays.

The message said there appeared to be “systemic issues” at specific hospitals in Leinster, Munster, and the West North-West region.

However, follow-up correspondence warned some figures might not be fully reliable as they were based only on ambulance vehicle movements.

An email from the HSE National Director Grace Rothwell added: “It seems that in the absence of the Acute Ops function there is little focus on ambulance delays at regional level as I hear the unacceptable delays reported daily.”

Asked about the records, a spokesperson said the NAS was undergoing a significant transformation to enhance service delivery, optimise resources and expand its role.

They said its base budget had risen to €285 million with a 28% increase in staffing and a €126 million investment in fleet replacement and expansion.

The spokesperson said plans for 2026 included around €20 million in new revenue funding, 263 additional staff, and four dedicated Hospital Ambulance Liaison Supervisors for the HSE West and North West region.

They said: “Where required, NAS can deploy Hospital Ambulance Liaison Supervisors (HALS) to individual hospitals to support crews with patient handovers and help resolve operational delays.”

The fleet of cars used to ferry government ministers and officeholders around the country cost taxpayers more than €8 million over the past year.

Some of the newest vehicles in the fleet are gas-guzzling diesels, including an Audi A6 50 TDI Quattro registered this year and three Skoda Octavia 2.0 TDI models from 2025.

Two fully electric cars – both Hyundai Ioniqs – have run up comparatively low mileage compared to other vehicles which have clocked up in excess of 300,000 kilometres.

An Garda Síochána said two new vehicles were added to the fleet in the past year with one disposed of during the same period.

However, they refused to provide details of purchase or scrappage costs, saying the information was commercially sensitive.

The overall cost of providing the ministerial car service was €8.4 million, mostly related to the cost of drivers for the Taoiseach, Tánaiste, Ministers, and other officeholders.

An Garda Síochána declined to say exactly how many officers were allocated to the ministerial pool but said their salaries totalled €7.67 million.

They said information on gardaí who formed part of the Special Detective Unit (SDU) or the Security and Intelligence Section was protected under Freedom of Information laws.

A further €311,000 was spent on fuel while costs for maintaining the fleet – with some vehicles more than a decade old – came to around €436,000.

The largest number of cars in use for ministerial transport are Audis, with a smaller number of BMWs, Skodas, Ford Transit vehicles and a single Mercedes.

An Garda Síochána said they had no specific policy around whether to buy electric or hybrid vehicles for the fleet.

Records released by them list a total of 52 vehicles, 25 diesel vehicles, 25 plug-in hybrids and just two that are fully electric.

The two fully electric vehicles were brought into service in 2022 and 2023 when the Green Party formed part of the government coalition.

The first of them, a Hyundai Ioniq 5, has driven just under 70,000 kilometres, lower than most other cars bought that year.

The second – a Hyundai Ioniq 6 registered in 2023 – has clocked up just 27,708 kilometres, or the equivalent of only 9,000 kilometres per year.

Diesel cars remain the workhorses of the garda fleet, racking up tens of thousands of kilometres, sometimes in a single year.

A county council spent more than €680,000 pursuing a long-running planning enforcement case over a five-bed luxury home built without permission in its area.

Meath County Council incurred €642,696 in legal fees alone in relation to the unauthorised development saga at Bohermeen.

Costs surged this year with €408,702 in costs recorded as the council took possession of the property and demolition works were carried out.

A table of costs released under FOI reveals how bills began to mount for the county council as far back as 2007 when enforcement action first started.

The costs were minimal in the first three years before rising to around €17,500 in 2010.

Over the following three years, a further €47,000 was spent by the local authority, all of it on legal bills.

Between 2014 and 2017, as the case rumbled on, costs were minor, amounting to just €7,000 over a four-year period.

In 2018, legal bills suddenly increased to more than €81,000 before a lull in enforcement-related spending over the next few years.

Meath County Council said costs in 2022 hit around €28,000 – around €22,000 of that for lawyers and the rest in “miscellaneous” spending.

Between 2023 and 2025, its legal bills came to nearly €79,000 with a further €1,230 spent on direct planning enforcement.

This year, costs on the case exploded as Meath County Council finally demolished the illegally constructed house.

Its legal bills reached almost €375,000, according to a log of spending.

A further €33,394 was spent on security during the demolition, which was carried out amid high tensions in the area.

The overall bill across the twenty-year process came to €683,409.

Asked about the records, a spokesman for Meath County Council said the figures reflected costs incurred over “a prolonged period” in relation to the case.

He said: “The matter has been before the courts on multiple occasions over a number of years, including proceedings in the High Court and on appeal to the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal, where the enforcement position of the Council was upheld.

“The majority of costs incurred relate to legal proceedings associated with this process.”

Asked if it had any additional comment on the costs involved, the spokesman said: “As this remains an ongoing legal matter, it would not be appropriate to comment further at this time.”

A city council said bin-raiding by people looking for bottles and cans had cost it half a million euro last year, leaving already-collected rubbish strewn around the streets.

A briefing document said the Deposit Return Scheme, operated by Re-turn, forced staff to clean up waste from city streets twice over.

Its waste management section estimated that three hours in every 24-hour cleaning cycle were being diverted to deal with “bin interference.”

The document said the council had placed bin surrounds on receptacles to try and encourage people to deposit cans and bottles there.

However, these had little impact and were instead being used for general litter disposal including coffee cups, drink cartons, and cigarettes.

A breakdown of costs said Dublin City Council had spent more than €115,000 replacing locks on ‘Big Belly’ bins at a cost of €995 per receptacle.

The council had placed surrounds on a total of 110 bins at a cost of around €40,000 even though this ultimately proved of limited use.

It said there were ongoing daily costs from the Re-turn scheme with staff forced to remove torn bags, collect scattered waste, and return to areas already cleaned.

The briefing document said: “The estimated cost of this diverted staff and fleet time is approximately €351,000 per annum.”

The briefing – prepared earlier this year – said costs for Dublin City Council were already in the order of €857,000.

And it predicted a further €351,000 bill for 2026 as staff would continue to be diverted to clean up already-collected waste.

The document said: “These figures are indicative but represent a reasonable estimate of the direct costs currently being incurred … and are likely to continue unless a solution is reached to this problem.”

Dublin City Council said there were wider impacts including a “negative visual impact” on the streets of the capital and damage to the city’s reputation and image.

It said litter created a reduced perception of safety and had a “potential impact on tourism and visitor experience.”

The local authority acknowledged that the scheme had been successful on a wider scale, increasing recycling rates for plastic bottles and cans.

However, it said the impact in Dublin’s city centre had been limited with “no significant differences” in street sweepings collected.

The city council said the objectives of Re-turn were good but that it was creating “significant operational challenges.”

“The primary issue arises from the fact that returnable bottles and cans have become a monetary commodity, creating an incentive for individuals to recover containers from public litter bins,” it explained.

The council said one suggestion would be to restrict access to deposit rebates to households with registered waste collection contracts.

However, it admitted this was not a perfect solution: “While this may reduce opportunistic scavenging, it would also limit access to the scheme for some members of the public.”

The briefing was prepared ahead of a meeting between officials from the local authority and representatives of the Re-turn scheme earlier this year.

Dublin City Council included photos of bin surrounds stuffed with rubbish that was not recyclable under the scheme.