CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY
Dáil Éireann
Wednesday, 22 June 2016
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I move the following Revised Estimates for the Justice Vote Group:
Vote 16 — Valuation Office (Revised Estimate)
That a sum not exceeding €9,491,000 be granted to defray the charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of December, 2016, for the salaries and expenses of the Valuation Office and certain minor services.
Vote 20 — Garda Síochána (Revised Estimate)
That a sum not exceeding €1,441,548,000 be granted to defray the charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of December, 2016, for the salaries and expenses of the Garda Síochána, including pensions, etc.; for the payment of certain witnesses’ expenses, and for payment of certain grants, and that a sum not exceeding €6,644,000 be granted by way of the application for capital supply services of unspent appropriations, the surrender of which may be deferred under Section 91 of the Finance Act 2004.
Vote 21 — Prisons (Revised Estimate)
That a sum not exceeding €318,651,000 be granted to defray the charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of December, 2016, for the salaries and expenses of the Prison Service, and other expenses in connection with prisons, including places of detention and for payment of certain grants.
Vote 22 — Courts (Revised Estimate)
That a sum not exceeding €63,669,000 be granted to defray the charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of December, 2016, for the salaries and expenses of the Courts Service and of the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, the High Court, the Special Criminal Court, the Circuit Court and the District Court and of certain other minor services as are not charged to the Central Fund.
Vote 23 — Property Registration Authority (Revised Estimate)
That a sum not exceeding €30,434,000 be granted to defray the charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of December, 2016, for the salaries and expenses of the Property Registration Authority.
Vote 24 — Justice and Equality(Revised Estimate)
That a sum not exceeding €350,416,000 be granted to defray the charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of December, 2016, for the salaries and expenses of the Office of the Minister for Justice and Equality, Probation Service staff and of certain other services including payments under cash-limited schemes administered by that Office, and payment of certain grants.
Vote 25 — Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (Revised Estimate)
That a sum not exceeding €6,190,000 be granted to defray the charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of December, 2016, for the salaries and expenses of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission and for payment of certain grants.
Vote 41 — Policing Authority (Revised Estimate)
That a sum not exceeding €2,640,000 be granted to defray the charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of December, 2016, for the salaries and expenses of the Policing Authority.
I welcome the opportunity to present the Revised Estimates for 2016 in respect of the Justice Vote Group to the Dáil.
The Justice Vote Group is made up of 8 different votes with a combined gross expenditure allocation of just over €2.458 billion in 2016. The net expenditure allocation is €2.2 billion.
I will give the House an overview of the main expenditure areas across the Vote Group but before getting into some of the specifics I want to say that I am very pleased with the funding level available to the sector in 2016 – an increase of over 6% on the corresponding Revised Estimates for 2015. As Deputies are aware, the Government recently approved substantial additional funding to An Garda Síochána which is reflected in the Revised Estimates currently under discussion. An additional allocation of €55 million will be made available for the remainder of 2016 – this includes €5m announced in February. This funding comprises €40 million additional Exchequer funding plus €15 million which will be funded from projected savings based on analysis of expenditure trends elsewhere in the Justice and Equality sector. The €15 million savings within the Justice Vote Group will be reassigned to the Garda Vote in a technical measure later in the financial year.
The gross expenditure estimate for the Garda Síochána Vote (Vote 20) is €1.55 billion which amounts to 64% of the funding for the entire Vote Group. The estimate for 2016 also includes an amount of €6.644 million carried forward from 2015 under the capital carryover provisions. Before the recently announced additional funding of €55 million, the 2016 REV published last December included increased funding of over €71 million compared with the original REV for 2015 after taking account of adjustments for non recurring costs.
Thus, the total additional funding for the Garda Vote in 2016 will amount to over €126 million by year end. Even allowing for the gross supplementary estimate of €43 million (net €35.2 million) for 2015, there is an overall increase in the Garda Vote of €83 million in 2016.
The main expenditure items include:
Pay €971 million –including an overtime budget of €91.5 million by year end
ICT Capital – €34 million including the first tranche of the capital investment plan of €205
million. In total, €330 million, including €205 million under the Capital Plan, is being invested in Garda ICT infrastructure between 2016 and 2021 to enable An Garda Síochána to deploy the latest cutting edge technologies in the fight against crime.
Building Capital – €50 million for the contractual costs of the construction of three new Divisional Headquarters as well as a refurbishment programme of stations throughout the country.
Garda Fleet - €6 million - Investment in a modern, effective and fit-for-purpose Garda fleet will continue under the Capital Plan 2016-2021 which provides €46 million for new Garda vehicles, ensuring that Gardaí can be mobile, visible and responsive on the roads and in the community to prevent and tackle crime. This is in addition to €34 million already invested in the fleet since 2012, with over 720 new vehicles coming on stream since the start of 2015.
The Government has consistently made it clear that it would fund whatever measures were needed for An Garda Síochána to best tackle the critical and unprecedented challenges they currently face. The provision of additional funding in the current year is essential in the context of the challenges that An Garda Síochána is currently facing.
These additional monies are made available based on information from Garda management regarding the level of funding required to maintain the necessary policing response to the current situation on an ongoing basis. This will allow for:
· Concentrated policing targeting gang related crime,
· The continued intensive and strategic targeting of burglaries and related crime through ongoing support for Operation Thor,
· Continued support for measures against international terrorism.
While the provision of immediate additional funding is both necessary and welcome, the Government is committed to ensuring that An Garda Síochána is well resourced and capable of providing a strong and visible police presence throughout the country well into the future.
The Programme for Government commits to continuing the ongoing accelerated Garda recruitment programme with a view to increasing Garda numbers to 15,000. In accelerating recruitment we must of course ensure that An Garda Síochána has the capacity to train larger numbers without any reduction in the quality of the training that new members receive. We must also ensure that the necessary supervision and support continues to be provided to newly qualified Gardaí to ensure that victims and the public generally, are well served. My Department is engaging with Garda management and the Public Appointments Service as a matter of priority in relation to the preparation of a recruitment plan for the next five years that will deliver increased numbers of Gardaí without any compromise on the quality of those recruited or the training programme.
In addition to accelerated Garda recruitment, there will be increased recruitment of civilians to provide expertise in relevant administrative areas and free up Gardaí to front-line policing duties.
Deputies will appreciate that increasing resources alone will not defeat the scourge of gang related and associated crime that currently impacts parts of our cities and country. Rather, a comprehensive range of measures is being put in place so that a cogent and coordinated response can be delivered, including:
- legislative measures to combat the threats from serious and organised crime,
- a dedicated Garda Armed Support Unit for the Dublin area is in the process of being set up and trained,
- the Garda Commissioner has recently announced the establishment of a new Garda Special Crime Task Force, under the Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, to augment the response to organised crime at a local level through concentrated policing, and through a multi-agency approach to targeting the proceeds of crime,
- the impact of International Co-operation cannot be stressed enough - at the recent EU Justice and Home Affairs Council in Luxembourg, I met bilaterally with Ministerial counterparts from Spain, the Netherlands and Belgium in the margins to discuss bilateral cooperation in the field of home affairs and in particular police cooperation against organised crime groups operating in those countries.
- An Garda Síochána is working closely with community representatives in the North Inner City, and elsewhere, to provide assurance and support in the aftermath of recent shootings, building on strong existing community policing relationships.
Everyone recognises the need for a response outside the scope of the criminal justice system and as Deputies will be aware, the Government met with community representatives in the North Inner City to hear their concerns and consider additional measures to be taken by a broad based Task Force to address socio-economic and community development issues in that area of the city.
Following its establishment on 1 January 2016, the Policing Authority (Vote 41) is being set up as a new and separate vote for the first time. It has a gross estimate of €2.7 million which provides for the running costs of the Authority.
I am pleased that the Authority is up and running and already well engaged in relation to the functions it has been assigned which are designed to implement a programme of independent oversight of the policing functions of An Garda Síochána
The Justice and Equality Vote (Vote 24) has a gross estimate provision of over €411 million broken down into five separate programmes comprising over 60 separate subheads.
The expenditure under Programme A – Leadership in and oversight of Justice and Equality Policy and Delivery - includes areas such as the Garda Ombudsman Commission (GSOC), Office of the Data Protection Commissioner and the Charities Regulatory Authority. I am pleased to say that it was possible to provide additional funding to these independent regulatory and oversight organisations in 2016. In the case of the Charities Regulator for example, this will provide for an 80% increase in staffing resources from 20 in 2015 to 36 when further recruitment is completed this year. The Office of the Data Protection Commissioner is an example of another area within the Justice Sector where the role of the agency is expanding significantly. The provision of an additional amount of €1.2 million has brought the budget available to over €4.7 million in 2016. The demands on this office have expanded significantly in tandem with the number of data-rich multi-nationals with headquarters in Ireland and I expect it will get even busier under the new EU Data Protection Directive which comes into effect in May 2018.
Programme B - A Safe and Secure Ireland includes funding for frontline support offices and agencies such as Forensic Science Ireland, the Probation Service, Services to Victims of Crime, COSC and State Pathology. This programme also includes provision for crime prevention measures to support Community Alert and Crimestoppers. Funding for these important community supports has doubled this year.
Programme C – Access to Justice for all – includes provision for the Legal Aid Board, the Magdalen Fund and the costs associated with Commissions and Special Inquires. Increased funding of €2.4 million for the Legal Aid Board will allow the Board to increase it’s staffing resources and make additional use of the Civil Court Practitioner Scheme to ensure that the full range of services are provided to as many qualifying applicants as possible within a reasonable timeframe.
Programme D – An Equal and Inclusive Society- includes additional funding for the Office of Migrant Integration in 2016 in respect of integration measures to support the increased intake of programme refugees. The programme also includes provision for gender equality, disability awareness and social inclusion measures across a wide spectrum of areas.
Programme E – An Efficient Responsive and Fair Immigration, Asylum and Citizenship System mainly includes funding for Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service INIS (€62.7 million) and Asylum Seekers Accommodation (€69.1 million). An additional allocation of approximately €25 million has been made available in respect of the necessary structures and supports for the Irish Refugee Protection Programme as well as the resources required to process cases already in the system and a general increase in the workload in the immigration area.
I am particularly pleased that the initiative to recruit staff to extend the civilianisation of front line immigration functions at Dublin Airport is continuing. Further Immigration Officer posts were recently advertised by the Public Appointments Service. This project is part of a wider Garda transformation programme which is seeing largely administrative, immigration functions transfer from An Garda Síochána to INIS thus freeing up Gardaí for critical front-line services. The airport project, when completed, will see all frontline immigration checks at Dublin Airport undertaken by uniformed civilian immigration officers from INIS and the release of Gardaí to core policing duties. Phase 1 of the airport project was completed last year with the civilianisation of the front line immigration function in Terminal 1 and the Transit area of Dublin Airport. Plans for the civilianisation project at Terminal 2 Dublin Airport are now progressing. An Garda Síochána will, of course, continue to carry out investigative and detention functions and an appropriate number of Gardaí will be retained at the Dublin airport for this purpose.
The gross estimate for the Prisons Vote (Vote 21) in 2016 is €332 million. It includes an increased payroll allocation of €6.5 million compared with the corresponding estimate in 2015 which will allow for critical vacancies to be filled.
I am pleased to report that with the new prison in Cork which opened in February and the refurbishment of Mountjoy which is scheduled to be completed this year, 98% of all prisoners now have access to in-cell sanitation.
Over the lifetime of the forthcoming Irish Prison Service strategy, plans for a new cell block and a new female prison unit in Limerick along with plans for the construction of a new maximum security unit at Portlaoise prison to replace the existing outdated "E" block will be progressed. These developments will end the practice of "slopping out" across the entire Irish Prison estate.
A total estimate in gross terms of €109.7 million is being provided for the Courts Service (Vote 22) in 2016. The estimate includes an increase of €1.2m in payroll which will provide for the appointment of circa 30 additional staff. I understand that these appointments are currently underway and will be assigned to support additional courts sitting required by the Presidents of the various Courts.
I am pleased to inform Deputies that there is currently a Public Private Partnership project underway covering seven courthouse venues.New courthouses are being developed in Drogheda, Letterkenny, Limerick and Wexford while substantial refurbishment and extension works to existing historic courthouses will be carried out in Cork, Mullingar and Waterford. Contracts were signed in December 2015 with BAM, the selected main contractor, and construction has commenced in all 7 locations. While still at a relatively early stage, the work is on schedule in all locations. All projects are to be delivered in 2017.
In addition, as Deputies will be aware, there are also plans for a dedicated and integrated Family Law and Children’s Court building, together with additional courtrooms for the Supreme Court and other Courts situated on the Hammond Lane site in Smithfield. A project board chaired by a senior High Court judge has been established and includes participation of all relevant stakeholders including the judiciary and the OPW State Architect. This project is likely to commence in 2017/18 for completion before 2020.
The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) (Vote 25) is an independent statutory body established on 1 November 2014, following the merger of the Irish Human Rights Commission and the Equality Authority.
It has a gross allocation of €6.3 million in its vote and this funding will enable the Commission to allow it to work effectively to further advance equality and human rights and to assist public sector bodies to address any issues and problems as they arise.
IHREC has “A” rated status as a national human rights institution (NHRI) with the International Coordinating Committee. This is in recognition of the strength of its mandate and independence and the separate Vote structure is an important part of that.
The remaining two votes in the Justice Group are the Property Registration Authority (Vote 23) and the Valuation Office (Vote 16). The Property Registration Authority has a gross budgetary allocation of €31 million of which payroll accounts for approximately 76% of expenditure. The other main areas of expenditure include the maintenance of Information Technology and the development of new systems on which the PRA is heavily dependent for improved efficiency and quality customer service.
The Valuation Office with a gross allocation of €10.641 million is coming under the remit of the Justice Vote Group for the first time in 2016. It was previously part of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform Vote Group. The reason for this change is due to the impending merger of the Valuation Office, the Property Registration Authority and Ordnance Survey Ireland (OSI) into a single entity known as Tailte Éireann. As part of this preparatory phase for the merger, the voted funding which was previously provided to OSI from the Department of Communications Energy and Natural Resources is now also included in the Justice and Equality Vote in 2016.
Tailte Éireann, will have responsibility for several important functions, including:
§ The State property registration system
§ The State mapping and surveying infrastructure
§ The State property valuation service
§ The development and maintenance of State geospatial information
§ Dealing with applications for purchase of ground rents and
§ Ensuring the proper functioning of the Valuation Tribunal.
The “Heads and General Scheme” of the Tailte Éireann Bill has been published and the Bill is currently at drafting stage.
In conclusion, as Deputies will appreciate, there is a lot happening in the Justice and Equality sector and I am grateful to my colleagues in Government, particularly the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Minister Donohue and his officials for their support for the necessary additional funding provided to An Garda Síochána. I look forward to support from this House and a constructive debate on these estimates.
ENDS