More than €42 million spent on security by six hospitals in two years

Ken Foxe

Six of the country’s biggest hospitals spent more than €42 million on security over the past two years amid growing concern over anti-social behaviour and violence.

The hospitals also logged hundreds of calls to An Garda Síochána as they dealt with public order and safety incidents.

St James’s Hospital in Dublin had the highest recorded spend at almost €11 million across 2024 and 2025, including more than €2.1 million on patient monitoring security officers.

Cork University Hospital spent almost €9.3 million over the same period, according to data released under FOI.

University Hospital Galway recorded security costs of around €8.5 million, with security bills rising significantly in 2025.

Beaumont Hospital in Dublin said it had spent almost €3.6 million over the past two years to help keep its campus safe.

Asked how many times gardaí had been contacted during the same period, Beaumont said 48 calls were made in 2024 and 51 in 2025.

St Vincent’s Hospital in Dublin said its security spend had been around €4.87 million during the last two years.

It said An Garda Síochána had been called for help “in relation to security or public order matters” on 77 occasions in 2024.

There were a further 88 calls made to gardaí last year.

At St James’s Hospital in Dublin, expenditure on security was around €5.36 million in 2024 with a further €5.6 million spent in 2025.

The hospital said it made 112 calls to gardaí relating to “interpersonal safety” over the past two years.

Another 115 calls were made because of “anti-social behaviour” on the campus in Dublin’s south inner city.

Spending on security at Cork University Hospital was €4.19 million in 2024 with a further €5.1 million spent in 2025.

The hospital said it was not possible to provide details on the number of times gardaí were called, saying the query was “too broad.”

The Mater Hospital in Dublin said it could not give figures on how many times gardaí were asked for assistance.

It said “end of shift reports” were submitted by the security team twice daily and that each of those would have to be individually checked to collate the data.

The Mater said spending on security over the past two years totalled around €5.36 million.