Mini diggers, Kango hammers and other machinery are being used to excavate a section that was built on in the years since the 26-year-old student, Annie McCarrick, is suspected to have been murdered.
When gardaí cause damage to property while executing a search warrant, compensation claims are managed by the State Claims Agency [SCA].
A source familiar with other, similar operations told the Irish Mail on Sunday: 'A Garda superintendent can designate the area a crime scene and that's done in accordance with law. For third parties like them, the State would have to accommodate within reason and obviously be decent because obviously they're not party to the offences committed.
'Ultimately, the State Claims Agency would negotiate and pay that bill on behalf of An Garda Síochána. Not the likes of the dig and houses and all that - gardaí would pay that ourselves through imprest accounts [cash accounts used to cover routine expenses] sanctioned by HQ. But overall, where a house is extensively searched, you'd have to take a claim in through the SCA.'
Gardaí are searching for the remains of American student Annie McCarrick and will be compensated for damage to their beautifully renovated family home.
The search of the property, which was the chief suspect's family home at the time Annie disappeared, has been ongoing and is expected to continue into next week.
Sources said the current owners of the property, who bought the house in the past 15 years and have moved out for the duration of the search, transformed it into a large modern family home.
But with gardaí determined to rule it out as a possible burial site, 'significant excavation' work is being carried out.
response to parliamentary queries from former Social Democrats co-leader Catherine Murphy confirmed a total of €217,790 was paid to property owners who had been subject to Garda raids between 2015 and September 2021.
The bulk of this, €158,685, was paid out by the SCA. Garda Headquarters handled more minor claims amounting to €59,005.
Last week, the MoS revealed gardaí moved to arrest the chief suspect in the McCarrick murder after going to another jurisdiction to speak with a close associate of the man. It is understood this associate provided information to gardaí, which discredited the suspect's alibi for the day Ms McCarrick vanished.
The arrest came as detectives worked on the theory that she was murdered by a 'jealous' man who was known to her.
In March 2023, the MoS revealed a person of 'significant interest' to detectives was identified and that this was why the case was upgraded to a murder investigation at the time.
The development came more than 30 years after Ms McCarrick's friends told gardaí they were concerned about the man, who was well known to her.
Ms McCarrick's friend, Linda Ringhouse, and her aunt, Maureen Covell, this weekend expressed concern at how gardaí handled the original investigation. 'They botched it,' Ms Covell told the Irish Times. 'They admitted it. They didn't listen to the family and did not investigate who we thought was guilty in the very beginning.
'They pooh-poohed a lot and didn't follow up on things they should have. That's no secret. It is all documented.'
'And no matter how many times we said there is something wrong, it was: "Oh, she is off on an adventure and she will turn up".'
Newspaper reports this week quoted Annie McCarrick's mother, Nancy, as saying she had 'no interest' in justice, but her friend and aunt are adamant that the family do want justice.
In a social media post in 2022, Nancy described Ms McCarrick as her 'first and oldest best friend'.
'She was a force of freedom and adventure so much that she took off to Ireland to live her ultimate dream,' she wrote at the time.
'I remember being jealous of Ireland, in a way, because it was taking her away from us.
'She was a true romantic with a big loving heart. An eloquent, soft-spoken, natural beauty as well as a hilarious, foul-mouthed stunner. She could make you spit your drink out from crazy laughter.'
Nancy told how she visited Ms McCarrick the month before she went missing. 'I was able to see how happy she was to be there and start a new life chapter. It's hard to describe losing someone this way. It's a different type of loss and grief. It brings a type of anger and rage that does subside but can come right back at any moment.
'She is never forgotten among those of us who were lucky to call her a friend.'
