Gardaí probe the leaking of Michael D’s security bill
Security for President’s 12-day Canaries holiday cost €10k
THE leaking of the President’s holiday security bill is being investigated under the Official Secrets Act, following revelations in the Irish Mail on Sunday.
In January, the MoS revealed there was a €10,000 cost to the taxpayer for the President’s secret 12-day trip to the Canary Islands over Christmas.
Now a Garda investigation is underway and MoS reporters have been contacted – but President Michael D Higgins, through a spokesman, denied making any complaint about the story.
Two members of the gardaí kept an armed watch over him and wife Sabina as they enjoyed a stay on the island of Gran Canaria between December 28 and January 8.
The Áras had refused to release details of the security spend, despite MoS requests.
Typically, the President has a team of six armed gardaí, who work seven days on and seven days off. Four of the six are attached to the Special Detective Unit (SDU) and the other two to Liaison & Protection in Garda Headquarters.
‘The trip away was only flagged to Garda authorities shortly before Christmas,’ a source told the MoS.
‘The hotel was visited by a Garda inspector to do a pre-visit recce. This would check how secure the location is, ease of access for an unwanted “guest” and general security,’ added the source. The cost of this pre-visit is borne by the Garda Síochaná. ‘Only one member of the Garda personnel attached to the President was available to travel and this member travelled on the [Ryanair] flight with the President. A second member was diverted from their duty in SDU to travel to the Canaries for 12 days.
‘There was no availability on the Ryanair flight due to the short notice of the trip and he had to fly on an earlier Aer Lingus flight.
‘There will be a significant overtime bill for this visit,’ the source had added.
Subsistence payments to cover meals for the two gardaí were in the region of €2,900 and their overtime budget amounted to €6,300 over the trip. When President Higgins arrived back into Dublin Airport after the trip, there were three vehicles waiting for them – his car, his escort car and a car to collect his luggage.
The investigation is the latest episode in a saga of the President’s secret trip abroad. The MoS broke the story of Mr Higgins’s departure after we reported that the Cabinet had given permission for him to leave the State – without being officially told where he was going.
Despite vows to be more transparent, the Office of the President refused to release the destination in advance, despite previous trips being publicised. A Garda spokesman confirmed this weekend: ‘An Garda Síochána is conducting an internal investigation into a potential breach of the Official Secrets Act.’