Funding

The Garda Síochána Inspectorate is wholly funded by the Department of Justice to meet pay and non- pay expenditure requirements. This funding forms part of the Voted expenditure (Vote 24) of the Department of Justice and as such the Department’s Secretary General is the Accounting Officer. The Inspectorate observes the objectives and procedures governing the funding of the Inspectorate as provided for in its oversight agreement with the Department.

Expenditure

The table below shows the total expenditure incurred by the Inspectorate in 2023 broken down by pay and non-pay.

2023Budget €Expenditure €Variance €
Pay€982,000
€989,566
€7566
Non Pay€438,000
€249,579-€188,421
Total€1,420,000
€1,239,145
-€180,855

The Department has provided the Inspectorate with funding of €1.446m for 2024 of which €1.008m is provided for expenditure on pay and €438,000 for non-pay expenditure. This expenditure is reported on together with other areas of the Department’s expenditure in the Appropriation Accounts.

Salaries

The Inspectorate comprises of 3 members, a Chief Inspector and two Deputy Chief Inspectors, who are appointed by the Government for a fixed tenure.

The annual remuneration (excluding PRSI and employer pension costs for the Chief Inspector and Deputy Chief Inspectors (as at October 2023) is as follows:

  • Chief Inspector: €178,995
  • Deputy Chief Inspector: €130,951

In addition, the following staff are assigned to the Inspectorate:

GradeNumber
Principal Officer1
Assistant Principal Officer2
Higher Executive Officer3
Executive Officer3
Total9

Staff salaries for are paid in accordance with the pay for the grade of the post as set out by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER). Click here to see link to the relevant DPER circular.

Travel and Subsistence

The inspection process requires the conduct of field visits to operational and national units of the Garda Síochána, in order to analyse the effectiveness and the efficiency of Garda operations and benchmark Garda performance against the best standards of comparable police services.

The Chief Inspector and Deputy Chief Inspectors are also required to represent the Inspectorate at various conferences, seminars and meetings on policing matters and other matters related to the work of the Inspectorate at home and abroad.

In 2023 the Inspectorate incurred expenditure of €4,117 on travel and subsistence payments (excluding the cost of flights) to staff.

When approving travel and subsistence expenditure, the Inspectorate follows the general principles governing travel and subsistence set out in Circular 11/1982 and the Foreign Travel Guidelines 2009, mainly:

‘Travelling and subsistence allowances are payable only in respect of necessary absence from headquarters. All travelling duties should be planned so as to reduce the total amount of travel to the minimum consistent with efficiency. All official travel should be by the shortest practicable routes and by the cheapest practicable mode of conveyance.’