Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Thank you, Chairman, for the suggestion that none of us should be devious. That is a positive start to the morning.

I welcome the opportunity to meet with the committee as it considers the 2014 Revised Estimates for my Department’s group of Votes, which were published in December. My earlier than usual appearance before the committee in relation to the 2014 Estimates has come about due to the rationalisation of the budgetary arrangements which aims to ensure that the Estimates are published prior to the commencement of the financial year rather than within the year to which they refer. This is following through on the Government’s commitment to Dáil reform and is also consistent with the timelines for the budgetary process in other EU member states.

In summary, there has not been a significant difference to the budgetary figures published on budget day in October, other than the inclusion of an amount of €23 million in the justice and equality Vote in respect of Magdalen-related payments; an increased provision of €2 million in respect of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission; and an increased capital allocation of €2 million in the courts Vote for the establishment of the new court of appeal.

I am particularly pleased that additional provision is being made for each of the three important areas in question and I will elaborate more when dealing with the individual Votes later. I am pleased that a gross provision of more than €2.184 billion is available to the five votes in the justice sector for 2014 and, as in previous years, this allocation will be managed to ensure that optimum value is obtained right across the sector and any necessary reprioritisation of resources will take place as the year unfolds.

A gross allocation of €380.5 million is available to the justice and equality Vote, broken down into six separate programmes. The range of programmes includes services towards maintaining a secure Ireland, working for safe communities, organisations which facilitate the provision and administration of justice, the equality and integration area, representing Ireland’s interests abroad and contributing to economic recovery. Even within the programmes the range of subheads is very broad.

If we take programme A as an example, the budget for areas such as INIS, the Criminal Assets Bureau and services administered by the youth justice service, including funding for Garda youth diversion projects and young persons’ probation projects, are all included in this particular programme.

I am pleased that I have been able to maintain funding for the programmes administered by the youth justice service to provide a deterrent to young people getting involved in the insidious spiral of criminal activity. In all, it is estimated that more than 5,000 young people will come in contact with Garda youth diversion projects in 2014. It is important to point out that the projects continue to focus and engage high-risk young people with more intensive interventions.

The reviews of the scheme continually point to their effectiveness and I am determined, in so far as it is possible, that I will continue to maintain current levels of funding in this area.
Facilitating the provision and administration of justice in Programme C contains a significant allocation of €23 million for Magdalen-related payments. As I have said previously, one of my priorities since taking up office as Minister for Justice and Equality has been to address the hurt felt by women who were in Magdalen laundries. As a result we have had the McAleese report documenting the facts about Magdalen laundries and the Quirke report on the establishment of an ex gratia scheme and a comprehensive range of supports for the women involved. The provision of this quantum of funding for 2014 will ensure the lump sum payments can be made to the women in question as soon as possible. A formal letter of offer of what they will receive under the scheme has issued to more than 270 women at this stage. As soon as the offers are accepted, payment will follow at an early date. By the end of this month, payments will actually have issued to more than 100 applicants totalling €3.5 million. In the meantime, processing and verification work on other applications will continue with a view to an assessment of what they will receive under the scheme being notified to each of the women as soon as possible.
Members may recollect from when I appeared before them on a technical supplementary estimate for the Department of Justice and Equality Vote in November that I reallocated an additional €7.3 million to the subhead dealing with the payment of compensation awards for personal injuries criminally inflicted. I am pleased to say that almost all this allocation was spent in 2013 and it has practically cleared the backlog in awards which had built up. This situation arose mainly due to a number of significant awards of compensation that had been made in recent years and had placed great strain on the scheme. While the allocation from this cash-limited scheme is back to standard levels for 2014 the fact we are going into the year with the backlog almost eliminated is a very positive development.
I am also particularly pleased there is an increase of €2 million, which is 45%, in the grant-in-aid allocation for the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission in 2014. This delivers a very specific commitment I made to ensure appropriate funding was allocated to the new body. It is important to recognise the commission is not simply the sum of the two existing organisations. The upcoming legislation underpinning the establishment of the organisation will give it a number of enhanced functions, which are designed, in accordance with Government policy, to deliver a world class human rights and equality service. The additional funding demonstrates the Government’s commitment in this area and will enable the new organisation to develop its remit in a structured and co-ordinated manner from the outset.
Before moving off the Department of Justice and Equality Vote it should be noted that practically all of the planned staffing resources and structures are now in place for the Insolvency Service, under the contribute to economic recovery subhead in Programme F, and it is very much open for business. This is an outstanding achievement considering the relevant legislation was only enacted a little over a year ago and the service was only formally established last March. I compliment those within the Insolvency Service of Ireland and in the wider Department who have facilitated the establishment of this office. There was always going to be a lead-in time, before demand for the service ramped up to expected levels. I am confident this service will play a very strong role in dealing with the legacy of considerable personal debt which has built up largely as a consequence of the economic crash and will act as a springboard to a better economic future for many hard-pressed individuals in our society.
The largest part of the budget for justice goes to An Garda Síochána, at almost €1.344 billion in gross terms in 2014. The pay and superannuation component amounts to 87% of the gross allocation. The Commissioner has approximately 13,100 members of An Garda Síochána plus 1,165 Garda Reserve members available to him to provide a policing service. An additional 99 men and women are in training for the Garda Reserve. Approximately 2,100 civilian staff provide essential support services in An Garda Síochána.
The response to the recent Garda recruitment campaign has been very welcome. The Public Appointments Service has commenced processing the applications so the successful candidates will be able to enter the Garda College as new recruits later this year. Following the first 32 weeks of tuition, there will be a further 72 weeks of on the job experiential learning. On conclusion of these two years of training, the Garda member will be awarded a BA in Applied Policing. This development is particularly welcome as the last recruits entered the Garda College in Templemore in May 2009, after which the moratorium on public service recruitment was put in place.
All Garda Vote expenditure is accounted for under one programme, which is working with communities to protect and serve, and the various output targets for 2013 and 2014 reflect this goal. Targets relating to safety in communities, through enhanced visibility, engagement and communication are not just aspirations; they are real objectives happening on the ground every day. They complement other core objectives such as reductions in violent crime, increased detection rates and the targeting and disruption of organised crime groups. Garda operations are structured to achieve these objectives.
Revised rostering arrangements now ensure gardaí are on duty when needed most by the communities they serve. The rationalisation of Garda stations means more gardaí are freed up from routine administrative work and available and visible in the community at times of greatest need.
The most recently published CSO crime statistics for the end of the third quarter in 2013 reflect a continued reduction in most crime categories, and a total reduction of more than 17,500 crimes over the previous 12 month period. These statistics underline the positive impact the Garda is having on crime and the success of the Commissioner's strategy to maximise the use of resources with intelligent and targeted deployment. It is important and right I congratulate the Commissioner and the Garda on their achievements in this context. It is regrettable they do not get wider publication. I do not believe the public realises or understands the reduction in the instances of crime and the very substantial successes the Garda has achieved. Unfortunately, media attention tends to be on other issues. A reduction in crime providing greater safety in communities is of maximum importance and of very particular interest to all who reside throughout the country.
Recent operations such as Operation Stilts, which is an ongoing covert operation targeting anti-social behaviour and drug-related crime in Dublin city centre locations, is an example of such focused Garda activity which is making a difference. In this context also, I am pleased to note that many of the crimes which affect quality of life in the community were also down in the latest figures, including public order offences, down 7,159 or 15.9%.
It is particularly noticeable that the targeted operations by An Garda Síochána throughout the country, such as Operation Fiacla, are particularly successful in tackling property crime. At the end of December 2013, Operation Fiacla had led to the arrests of 7,610 persons, and to 4,342 persons being charged under the operation. The continued impact of these and other Garda operations on burglary is reflected in a significant decrease of 10.4% in this category of offence, further accelerating the reductions seen since earlier this year. Instances of robbery have decreased by 5.2% from 2,861 to 2,713.
I am also pleased that despite the continuing difficult financial backdrop to the Estimates I am able to maintain what I consider the very necessary investment in the Garda transport fleet. Including the €4 million provided for Garda transport purchases in 2014, there will have been €18 million spent on the Garda fleet in the period from 2012 to 2014. This means 651 vehicles will have been purchased in the period from 2012 to 2013 period with additional purchases to be made from the further €4 million available for the fleet in 2014. The corresponding figure for the previous three-year period from 2009 to 2011 was less than €5 million with 217 vehicles purchased.
Turning now to prisons, a gross expenditure budget of €324.5 million is being provided for the prisons Vote in 2014. This expenditure is provided under one all-encompassing programme which encapsulates the essence of the Prison Service, which is to provide safe and secure custody, dignity of care and rehabilitation to prisoners for safer communities.
Members of the committee will be aware the contract to build a new modern prison on the site of the existing Cork Prison was recently signed. It is expected that construction of the new prison in Cork will be completed by the end of 2015. The refurbishment and modernisation work in Mountjoy Prison is continuing and on completion of the Mountjoy D wing refurbishment this year all cells in Mountjoy Prison will have in-cell sanitation services. I can well remember a time when I was informed by one of my predecessors that to achieve this would be completely impossible.
Projects such as these are examples of the Government delivering on its commitment in the programme for Government for the modernisation of the prison estate and the elimination of slopping out.

In all, the prisons building capital budget is €28.5 million in 2014, including €2.4 million in the carry-over of an unspent amount from 2013. It is important to add that there is considerable economic benefit to expenditure of this scale in the broader community, particularly in the construction sector in the context of the creation of jobs and economic activity of an indirect nature that derives from those jobs in the areas in which construction work is taking place.
Needless to say, the building and refurbishment of prisons, while very necessary to provide a more humane environment for everyone in the service, is only part of the multifaceted approach to the reform and development of the service. The community return programme has been a really positive development. As well as allowing prisoners to complete their sentence by way of performing a service to the community, the programme has significantly helped these prisoners to successfully resettle in their communities. The national roll-out of the programme saw the establishment of a new co-located unit based in the Probation Service headquarters, including an official from the Irish Prison Service. This is a new departure for both services. I believe this joined-up thinking and joined-up approach to be of particular importance. This unit now manages the community return programme nationally and has taken on responsibility for the co-ordination of several local interagency projects in Dublin, Cork and Limerick. This enhanced integration between both services is the realisation of the commitment in the programme for Government to ensure better co-ordination in order to create and integrate offender management programmes.
In addition to community return, the unlocking community alternatives scheme, UCAS, and the community support scheme have been set up in both Cork and Mountjoy prisons in an attempt to address the recidivism levels of those serving sentences of less than 12 months from those catchment areas. The UCAS and community support scheme groups comprise a number of prison-based personnel representing the discipline grades and therapeutic services, as well as community support workers based in the community. The groups engage with prisoners shortly after committal and seek to identify risk factors, make appropriate referrals and prepare a sentence management plan in each case. The primary aim of these schemes is to reduce the current recidivism rates by arranging for additional support structures and providing for a more structured form of temporary release. These are pilot schemes and will be reviewed in 12 months in order to assess whether they have had a positive impact on re-offending rates. It is particularly important that we continually look at and examine what we are doing to ensure that, in the context of those who are serving prison sentences, there are positive steps taken to try to reduce the level of re-offending. That is of benefit, particularly to the wider community as well as to those who have offended in the past.
The incentivised regimes policy provides for a differentiation of privileges between prisoners according to their level of engagement with services and quality of behaviour. The objective is to provide tangible incentives to prisoners to participate in structured activities and to reinforce incentives for good behaviour, leading to a safer and more secure environment. The indications are that the policy is working well. Earlier this month, 59% of prisoners had earned the privilege of being on the enhanced regime, 38% were on the standard regime and 3% on the basic level.
The changes to the way in which the service operates have been brought about largely under the Irish Prison Service, IPS, transformation programme. This has included the development and implementation of new working practices, together with a review of all tasks, posts, staffing levels and processes in the prisons, greater use of technology and greater interagency co-operation within the justice sector to deliver cross-agency efficiencies. A vital step in the reform process is the introduction of a new grade to replace the current grade of prison clerk. The clerks will be redeployed to positions more suitable to their skill sets and training and will be replaced by the new grade of prison administration and support officer, PASO. I am informed that in the region of 108 PASO grades have commenced working in the IPS since late 2013.
There is some way to go in improving the conditions in our prisons, but significant progress continues to be made. Large infrastructural building projects are being complemented by improved processes and ways of operating, together with measures for more effective management of persons committed to prisons. I want to pay tribute to the governors in each of our prisons for the jobs they are doing, to all of our prison staff and to the co-operation from the representative body of prison officers, which has always constructively engaged in seeking to facilitate and advance the reform projects that are being implemented.
The gross budget allocated to the courts Vote in 2014 is €104.565 million. There is also an appropriation-in-aid allocation of €46.535 million, of which €42.493 million relates to fees for various categories of courts transactions. All expenditure in the courts Vote is directed towards one key programme, that is, managing the courts and supporting the Judiciary.
Despite the challenging budgetary environment and reduced staff numbers, I am pleased that there has been an increase in scheduled court sittings in each of the years 2012 and 2013. The number of scheduled sittings has increased from 20,462 in 2011 to 23,700 in 2013. Allied to this, various measures have been put in place to reduce waiting times. These include initiatives taken by the President and judges of the High Court, including list management measures in Dublin and in respect of certain provincial personal injury lists in order to reduce the number of older cases in the lists and improve waiting times. In addition, the President of the High Court arranged that judges were available during the month of September to hear actions in personal injury, family law and commercial list matters and common law motions. A significant number of additional sittings were held in all court jurisdictions during 2013, with 20 additional sitting weeks in the High Court, 80 additional sitting weeks in the Circuit Court, over 500 special sittings of the District Court and September sittings in both the Supreme Court and the Court of Criminal Appeal. These measures are particularly welcome and are contributing in no small way to the overall reform initiatives in place to bring about a more efficient Courts Service.
Various other reforms continue to be progressed, including the combined court office project, which effectively means that offices for all levels of courts have been combined in 23 counties, leading to a much more effective use of resources. In fact, there are only two provincial offices, those being, Tralee and Wicklow, where administrative operations remain to be combined. These will be completed in early 2014.
It is important also to acknowledge that the establishment of the Insolvency Service has had an impact on the Courts Service. During 2013, the official assignee in bankruptcy and the staff of the office transferred from the Courts Service to the Insolvency Service of Ireland. A number of other posts have been filled in the Courts Service to support the introduction of insolvency functions in the Circuit Court jurisdiction.
Preparations are already under way within the Courts Service for the establishment of the Court of Appeal following the constitutional referendum last autumn. As previously mentioned, a sum of €2 million is provided for the capital infrastructure necessary to get the court in place later this year. Other related operational and staffing requirements are also being considered by the Courts Service. I expect the new court will deal with most cases that are currently dealt with by the Supreme Court, thus reducing that court's workload and allowing it to focus on the development of the law. The need for a Court of Appeal arises mainly from the ongoing significant backlog of cases before the Supreme Court and the consequent long delays in cases being dealt with by that court. The impact of the establishment of the Court of Appeal should be obvious in terms of reductions in delays once it is established and becomes operational.
The Property Registration Authority, PRA, has a net budgetary provision of €30.108 million in the current year. Apart from payroll costs, 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. A total of €1.545 million, being 5% of the gross allocation for 2014, has been provided for ICT-related expenditure. A provision of €3 million, being 10% of its allocation, is for payments to Ordnance Survey Ireland, the State mapping agency, for the supply, licensing and usage of mapping data.
Registration of applications for changes on existing registered titles is the main area of work for the PRA. In 2013, in excess of 177,000 registrations were completed. This level of activity resulted in over 500,000 changes being recorded on the Land Registry. As a result of the investment in technology, the PRA has developed extensive online services, which are available immediately over the Internet via the landdirect.ieservice. During 2013, over 2 million searching and certification transactions were processed through the landdirect.ieportal.

The modernisation programme engaged in by the PRA has provided a very detailed database of property ownership and related information. This has been a powerful enabler in facilitating the organisation to assist other Departments and agencies in the delivery of Government policy in a value for money manner. Thus, for example, the PRA is able to provide advanced spatial information for the National Roads Authority’s national motorway programme, input for a number of the Environment Protection Agency’s regulatory projects, and information to the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government on the implementation of EU directives. It is also working with the Office of Public Works in establishing a register of State property.

Members will appreciate there are many other activities in which the Department of Justice and Equality is engaged. Were I to detail all of them and each item to which funding is allocated in this submission, I would still be speaking in two hours. I have merely touched on some of the central issues of relevance. However, I am happy to address any issues arising.

The total Estimate for the justice sector in 2014 is €2.184 billion in gross terms and almost €1.961 billion in net terms. As I have set out, it covers five Votes and a broad range of areas within the justice and equality sector.