2026-05-14

14. Deputy Joe Cooney asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the Garda resources that have been allocated to County Clare in respect of major events scheduled for 2026, including a tournament (details supplied); whether the staffing required for such events is being drawn from within the existing Clare-Tipperary division complement or from other divisions; the steps being taken to ensure that high-visibility community policing in County Clare is not diminished during periods of major event deployment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35405/26]

I raise the issue of resourcing gardaí in County Clare for the Irish Open in September. This is a huge event coming to County Clare and it will bring tens of thousands of visitors to our county. I ask the Minister what additional resources both human and financial will be made available by his department to Clare Garda division for this event.

I thank the Deputy for his question. The organisation and deployment of policing resources for major sporting events is an operational matter for the Garda Commissioner and, indeed, local Garda management. As Ministers, we have no role as such in operational decisions, however, I am assured that the resourcing of policing requirements for high-profile sporting events is fully considered within the overall context of the needs of the relevant Garda division. The Garda Commissioner keeps the distribution of resources under continual review and we engage regularly with him to ensure An Garda Síochána has the resources it needs to keep our communities safe. The Commissioner is committed to ensuring the policing needs of the Clare-Tipperary division are fully attended to, notwithstanding the obvious demands the hosting of the event referred to by the Deputy will place on An Garda Síochána. As the Deputy knows, An Garda Síochána has extensive expertise in policing major sporting events, including previous large-scale sporting tournaments. I am sure he recalls the Irish Open was played in Lahinch in County Clare in 2019. There was a significant Garda presence and operation which helped the tournament run quite successfully and smoothly. An Garda Síochána has a proven track record of successfully policing multiple large events on the same day. We see that particularly with GAA events, which take place in multiple locations around our country on the same day and, indeed, at the same time. Garda management will, as always, undertake a thorough risk assessment and put in place an appropriate policing plan tailored to the specific event, ensuring public safety and the security of all attendees. I am satisfied An Garda Síochána has the necessary expertise, training and resources to discharge its duties in relation to the event the Deputy referred to, which is to be held in the Doonbeg golf resort in September of this year.

I thank the Minister of State. I congratulate everyone who has helped to bring this event to County Clare. It will provide a major boost to the local economy, particularly during the shoulder season of the year, but it will also place additional pressure on Garda resources, especially in west Clare. Gardaí will have to be reassigned from other duties, including community policing, to deal with crowd management, traffic and public safety. That will have an impact on communities across Clare that would normally rely on those Garda resources. Can the Minister of State assure me that this event will not affect Garda resources allocated to County Clare in 2026? Will the organisers make a financial contribution towards policing and public services? Will the overall cost to the State for this event be fully covered?

I previously mentioned that the previous Irish open which was staged in Lahinch, County Clare, in 2019 was a successful event. I also put on the record that in 2019, President Trump visited Clare, in 2023, President Biden visited Clare and President Zelenskyy visited there last December. Those visits were all successfully policed and properly and appropriately resourced by An Garda Síochána at the time. The expertise and knowledge are in the organisation. The Deputy asked about the recovery of charges relating to the policing of non-public duty events. The recent report of the Committee of Public Accounts on the 2023 appropriation accounts for Vote 20 - An Garda Síochána examined the cost of non-policing events. Ensuring value for money is a priority for the Department and the agencies under its remit. The Garda Commissioner is the Accounting Officer.

There is also a possibility of a visit this time by President Trump who owns Doonbeg golf club. We saw in previous visits the scale of the operation required for a presidential visit, including road closures, major security arrangements, co-ordination with the US Secret Service and the redeployment of Garda personnel from across the region. An Garda Síochána in Clare simply cannot do this with existing resources without causing serious disruption to normal policing services across the county. Rural communities in Clare, where there are already concerns about response times and Garda visibility, would feel the impact sharply. Can the Minister of State give an assurance that if President Trump were to visit Clare, none of the cost of the resource burden would fall on the existing Garda allocation for the county? Does the State carry the full cost of such a visit, even where it involves a privately owned business such as Doonbeg golf club? Communities across west Clare should not lose out on day-to-day Garda services because of a high-profile international visit.

I reiterate that President Trump, in 2019, and President Biden both visited County Clare and the visits were policed accordingly. In the Clare-Tipperary division, which the Deputy knows well, 661 gardaí were assigned to that division as of March 2026, which is a significant body of people. Every Garda division wants more and has its hand up for more gardaí to be allocated to it. The Deputy is concerned about the resourcing of the Clare-Tipperary division being left exposed while the policing of this event takes place. When major events are policed, gardaí from neighbouring districts are asked to attend and are pulled into the adjoining district to police them. It will not be the case that everyone in the Clare-Tipperary division will be sucked over to Doonbeg to police that event.