An Garda Síochána is to spend €12 million on footwear in the coming years, an average of more than €850 per serving member.
The footwear budget will cover dress shoes intended for ceremonial duty, boots designed for use on the beat and shoes intended for “indoor use”. The force is also ordering smaller numbers of boots designed for specialist units such as the Armed Support Unit.
According to the procurement documents published this week by the Office of Public Works, the shoes will cost an estimated €12 million plus VAT throughout the contract and any possible extensions.
The force is seeking a four-year contract with the option to extend it for another three years if required.
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A Garda spokeswoman said it is not possible to provide details on how much each pair of boots will cost. The procurement documents outline a figure of 16,000 pairs in the contract’s first year followed by 6,900 in each subsequent year, translating into an average cost of €208 per pair.
However, these figures “do not accurately reflect the footwear purchases that will actually be made and are set out for costing purposes only”, said the spokeswoman.
She added that the €12 million price tag is an “indicative value. As is the case with all commercial tenders, the final contract value may be lower depending on the outcome of the competitive process.”
The shoes are intended to meet the needs of the current 14,000 serving gardaí and those the Government hopes to recruit in the coming years. Efforts have been ongoing to increase numbers to 15,000.
Typically, each garda is provided with one pair of dress or “parade” shoes and one pair of hard-wearing boots for everyday use. They can then apply for replacements due to wear and tear or additional footwear for specific duties.
The procurement documents contain a long list of specifications for the shoes including “low friction lacing systems” and protective cover-caps on the toes. They will come in sizes ranging from three to 12 but sizes up to 15 should be available if needed.
The dress shoes should come in male and female varieties and be capable of accepting “orthopaedic adaptations”.
Shoes should also be available to suit gardaí who have suffered injuries, for example, ankle problems. The footwear providers should also be able to furnish unusual requests, such as shoes for a female garda trainee with a narrow, size-two foot, the documents state.
The condition of existing Garda footwear became a matter of controversy following the November 2023 Dublin riots when a member of the Garda Public Order Unit lost a toe.
The Garda Representative Association said this was a result of the standard issue steel toe boots not covering the entire foot.
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