Event organisers planning and budgeting for 2027 need to be aware of an important change on the horizon. An Garda Síochána has confirmed that it is to introduce a new charging regime for non-public-duty policing following recommendations from the Comptroller and Auditor General. What has not yet been published is just as important. At the time of writing, An Garda Síochána has not announced the new rates, detailed calculation methodology or commencement date. Organisers therefore know that the system is changing, but not yet what that change will mean for individual event budgets. It would be premature to assume a particular percentage increase or to apply a new Garda policing rate to future budgets. However, given the findings that have led to the review, organisers of events requiring significant Garda resources should recognise that the existing €45-per-hour model cannot safely be regarded as a fixed basis for future planning.

How the current charging system works

The current published Garda policy on the provision of services for certain events took effect in September 2023. It covers a wide range of activities, including sporting fixtures, concerts and music festivals, agricultural shows, festivals, meetings and conferences and a number of other events requiring additional Garda services. Under that regime, the costing applied to Garda personnel up to Inspector rank has generally been based on a flat rate of €45 per hour, irrespective of rank, time of day or day of the week. The system also contains an abatement mechanism, meaning the amount ultimately charged can be reduced depending on the classification and characteristics of an event.

The current Garda policy uses an Event Abatement Scoring Matrix which considers factors including the nature of the event, whether there is a promoter, whether a licence or safety certificate is required, paid admission, the use of licensed security, paid performers, trader concessions, community impact and whether additional policing is required because of the event. The resulting score determines the charging level. A score of fewer than five points currently results in no charge; between five and 30 points provides for a 50% reduction in total recovery costs; and a score of 31 or above results in full cost recovery.

This means that even under the existing arrangements, Garda policing costs cannot properly be understood simply as “number of Gardaí × number of hours × €45”. Event classification, the level of deployment and the application of the abatement mechanism can all affect the final position. Please click here for further information.

Why is the system changing?

The change follows significant concerns raised by the Comptroller and Auditor General in its examination of the cost of policing non-public-duty events. The C&AG found no evidence that An Garda Síochána had estimated the actual costs of policing these events in order to test whether the €45 hourly rate was appropriate. It also found that the flat rate did not reflect additional overtime rates or allowances payable for Sundays or bank holidays and had not been revised to take account of pay increases awarded since April 2023.

The conclusion was important: the €45 figure represented an assumed cost rather than a demonstrated actual cost. Where charges recovered from organisers are lower than the real cost of providing the Garda service, the difference is ultimately borne by the Exchequer. The audit also identified inconsistencies in how the charging arrangements had been applied. In some cases charges were calculated using the estimated Garda hours established during planning; in others they were based on hours subsequently reported. The C&AG found that, particularly for larger commercial events, the hours actually worked frequently exceeded those initially estimated.

The issue was subsequently considered by the Oireachtas Committee of Public Accounts. Its April 2026 report noted, by way of example, a 2023 event where €207,180 had been charged against an estimated actual policing cost of €274,166 – a difference of €66,986. That individual example should not be treated as an indication of how much future Garda charges will rise, but it illustrates why the existing methodology has come under scrutiny.

The sums involved are already significant

This is not a marginal expense for Ireland’s event sector. Figures reported on 1 October show that event organisers and other organisations paid An Garda Síochána €7.19 million during 2025 for policing major events and that the full amount charged for that year was recovered.

Among the figures reported were more than €412,000 for Electric Picnic, approximately €1.15 million paid by MCD across its events, €267,000 for the National Ploughing Championships, €419,000 from the GAA and €272,000 from the IRFU. MCD’s total included approximately €376,000 for its Marlay Park concerts and €173,000 for events at Malahide Castle.

For large festivals, concerts and sporting events, Garda policing can therefore already represent a substantial operating cost. A change to the underlying charging methodology is consequently more significant to the sector than the headline €7.2 million figure alone suggests.

What we do not yet know

An Garda Síochána’s statement confirms the direction of travel but leaves several important questions unanswered. There is currently no published replacement rate or formula. We do not yet know whether the new regime will retain a single hourly charge, introduce different rates by rank, incorporate overtime and premium payments directly, include a broader allocation of non-pay costs, or adopt another form of cost calculation.

We also do not know whether the existing abatement scoring system will remain unchanged. That matters particularly because the current published Garda policy anticipates substantial advance engagement with organisers. For one-off events, discussions on Garda services and associated charges should, where possible, conclude at least three months before an event. For recurring events, planning is intended to begin following the previous event’s debrief, with charging discussions again concluding no later than three months before the next event where possible.

If a new charging regime is introduced while 2027 events are already being planned, licensed, contracted and budgeted, organisers will need to understand which arrangements apply and from what date.

Where does public duty end and chargeable event policing begin?

This is another issue likely to require close attention. There will inevitably be Garda activity associated with major events which relates to broader public order, traffic management and community safety responsibilities as well as services directly attributable to the event. The C&AG noted that normal Garda public duty can overlap with policing an event. Earlier Garda guidance distinguished between Garda resources deployed inside venues and resources outside venues or in surrounding areas, while the current charging framework is linked to the event footprint, risk assessment and agreed requirement for Garda services.

In its latest comments, An Garda Síochána told RTÉ that commercial entities can be charged for policing duties both inside and outside venues and that the level of Garda deployment is ultimately a matter for An Garda Síochána, to be agreed with the commercial entity in advance. For organisers, clarity about this boundary is important. A large event inevitably changes pedestrian movement, traffic, transport use and general activity across the surrounding area. A future charging system will need to be sufficiently transparent for organisers to understand which Garda resources form part of the event charge and how those resources have been calculated.

The legal framework has also changed

There is a technical point worth noting. The Garda charging policy currently published online dates from 2023 and refers to section 30 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005. That legislation has since been replaced for these purposes by the Policing, Security and Community Safety Act 2024, which came into force on 2 April 2025. Section 43 of the 2024 Act now provides the statutory basis for the Garda Commissioner to provide and charge for services at events on private property or in areas open to the public.

The forthcoming charging regime therefore provides an opportunity for the published operational policy, charging methodology and current legislative framework to be brought together clearly for organisers.

What event organisers need from the new regime

For the event sector, the immediate issue is not whether the State should recover appropriate costs associated with non-public-duty policing. The practical issue is whether organisers can establish those costs sufficiently early and consistently to build reliable event budgets and make informed decisions.

Several details will therefore be particularly important when the new arrangements are published:

• the effective date of the new charging regime and any transitional arrangements for events already contracted, licensed or in advanced planning;
• the precise methodology used to calculate Garda costs;
• how and when an organiser will receive an estimated or agreed policing cost;
• how significant changes in deployment between planning and the event itself will affect the final invoice;
• the distinction between chargeable non-public-duty services and ordinary public policing responsibilities;
• how Garda deployments outside the event boundary or venue will be treated;
• whether the existing abatement matrix will remain and, if so, whether its criteria or thresholds will change;
• the process available where an organiser disagrees with a classification, deployment requirement, abatement decision or charge; and
• whether the event sector will be consulted before the new arrangements take effect.

These are not simply accounting questions. They have implications for event feasibility, ticket pricing, public funding requirements, commercial contracting and decisions about whether events can proceed.

What organisers should do now

Until the new regime is published, organisers should be cautious about treating €45 per Garda hour as a reliable fixed assumption for 2027 events. At the same time, there is not yet a factual basis for inserting an arbitrary percentage increase. The scale of any change will depend on the methodology ultimately adopted and on the characteristics and Garda deployment associated with each event.

For events already being developed, it would be sensible to identify Garda policing as an area of budget uncertainty, maintain clear records of assumptions used and engage early with the relevant Garda division as operational planning develops. An Garda Síochána’s announcement is therefore best understood as an early warning of a significant change rather than a completed policy change.

The Event Industry Association of Ireland will continue to monitor publication of the new charging arrangements and their implications for organisers across the sector. For an industry already managing substantial increases across many areas of event delivery, the priority will be clarity: clarity about what is chargeable, how the figure is calculated, when organisers will know the likely cost and how consistently the system will operate across different events and Garda divisions. That information will be essential if organisers are to plan responsibly for 2027 and beyond.

Sources: An Garda Síochána, Provision of Garda Services for Certain Events and Associated Charges; Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General, Cost of Policing Non-Public Duty Events; Committee of Public Accounts, Report on Vote 20: An Garda Síochána – 2023; RTÉ News, Gardaí paid €7.2m to police major events, 1 October 2026.