Garda Commissioner Drew Harris was before the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee (PAC) when members questioned him on how much money the organisation held in bank notes, which is evidence.
In response, Mr Harris confirmed the amount held across the garda estate was in the order of €40 million.
While the money will eventually be returned to the exchequer, this will only happen when the different investigations relating to the cash amounts conclude.
Mr Harris said there is a “robust” system in place, called a property in evidence management system (PEM), which gives An Garda Síochána “assurance around accounting for all of the things” retained, including money, firearms and drugs.
However, Mr Harris said he did have a concern that “if an individual member or staff member of An Garda Síochána has criminal intent, those systems can be defeated”.
“Also of concern was the amount of cash that we are holding. That is an obvious concern for us,” Mr Harris said.
“That’s why there’s been so much work gone into why are we holding it, and what are the routes to make sure it’s more secure, and how do we, as quickly as possible, get rid of it.
“Similarly with firearms, so many with drugs,” he added.
The Garda Commissioner told the committee there were sufficient controls in place to ensure evidence did not go missing. However, he caveated that reassurance, by outlining to the committee one incident that saw cannabis stolen from a Garda station.
According to Mr Harris, two kilos of cannabis was taken from a locker in a Carlow Garda Station in late 2023.
“That was drugs which should probably have been secured within the PEM system, and they were stolen from a locker,” Mr Harris said.
Fianna Fáil TD and vice-chair of PAC, Paul McAuliffe, called for greater transparency, stronger security around evidence held by An Garda Síochána in light of the news that €40 million is currently in storage.
“€40 million in cash is a significant amount of money. The public deserves assurances that this money is being held securely, transparently, and strategically,” Mr McAuliffe said.
“There must be a formal financial management strategy established to ensure the money does not lose value while it sits idle, potentially for years, awaiting the outcome of legal processes. This money must be protected not just physically, but financially. €40 million today will not be worth €40 million in five years if it’s gathering dust instead of interest.”
During the committee hearing, Mr McAuliffe said it was important that PAC was satisfied with the security of the money being held.
“I don’t think there is another organization in the state that would have €40 million euro in bank notes, and that the Public Accounts Committee wouldn’t have a good line of sight of what the security measures are, and the steps that are in place to protect it,” he said.
