Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chairman and the committee for making time available today to consider the Supplementary Estimates for An Garda Síochána and the Courts Service Votes. The Supplementary Estimate requirement in respect of the Garda Vote is €10 million and an additional €2 million is required for the Courts Vote in 2016. The additional requirements will be offset by surrender balances at year end in respect of the other votes in the justice group: prisons, the Property Registration Authority, justice and equality, the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, the Valuation Office and the Policing Authority.

The additional funding for the Garda Vote in the current year is the final part of the funding package announced by Government earlier this year. It is largely due to the sustained response to tackle gangland crime, fund the continuation of Operation Thor, with which the committee will be very familiar, and to ensure that measures to prevent international terrorism are continued throughout the year. This funding is in addition to the €40 million already provided in the Revised Estimates for 2016. That was provided in October.

The Government has consistently made clear that we would fund whatever measures were needed for An Garda Siochána to best tackle the challenges it currently faces. We have backed up these assurances with the approval of substantial additional funding to support large-scale policing operations, which members of the committee and the Chairman will have seen in Dublin and around the country.

The additional funding will ensure that gardaí may continue to confront and dismantle criminal networks. The funding will be utilised across a number of subheads, including: overtime expenditure, which is expected to be over €90 million in the current year; travel and subsistence; and the purchase of additional operational equipment for specialist units, etc.

There is no question but that this investment is yielding results. For example, Deputies would be interested to know Operation Hybrid has been established to co-ordinate the response to violent crime in Dublin and to address concerns about public and community safety. As of October, 38 arrests have been made and five charges have been brought in connection with recent shootings. In addition, 23 firearms have been seized and over 9,000 lines of inquiry conducted. In excess of 14,350 high-visibility checkpoints have been implemented with significant support from the armed support units and a major amount of CCTV footage, mobile phone traffic and forensic evidence is also being examined. The committee can see how the funding I outlined is being put to very good use in terms of Garda operations.

The goal of this budget allocation is focused on the key objectives of strengthening the law to get tougher on serious and repeat offenders and investing in the capacity of the Garda to enforce the law effectively. I will not go into too much detail. Operation Thor is a multi-strand national anti-crime and anti-burglary operation. It is a significant stepping up of the response to burglaries and we know patterns of crime change. There was a pattern around the country regarding burglaries. This operation has provided a very swift return on the Government's investment made in Garda resources and that is reflected in the figures recorded by the Central Statistics Office, which indicate a reduction of 26.3% in the level of burglary crimes. In the first six months of this year, there were 36% fewer burglaries than in the first six months of 2015, underlining the impact of Operation Thor since it was established at the end of last year. Everybody would welcome that success.

There has been concentrated activity throughout the country as a result of Operation Thor. I have already spoken about Operation Hybrid and Operation Thor has brought about more than 30,000 crime prevention patrols, with 38,500 targeted checkpoints nationwide. There have also been approximately 2,500 arrests and 2,900 charges, covering a range of offences which, in addition to burglary, have included handling stolen property, possession of firearms and drugs offences.

A number of technical adjustments are also included in the Supplementary Estimate, including the reallocation of a capital expenditure underspend of approximately €20 million in the building programme to other areas. One often gets that underspend with very large capital projects as it can be quite difficult to predict precisely the pace at which they develop and the spending of money. We have reallocated that to capital expenditure in important areas like information and communications technology, ICT. There is a major ongoing ICT programme and we have reallocated some of the money there, as well as to transport, including for the purchase of 191 extra cars for An Garda Síochána to be delivered by the end of the year. There is also €9 million in respect of unspent buildings capital that will be carried over to 2017 to meet costs relating to the completion of the divisional headquarters at Kevin Street in Dublin, Wexford and Galway, all of which are under way. This will ensure the effective use of the capital allocation on a multi-year basis.

Even allowing for the capital carryover adjustments, it is projected that over €90 million will be spent on Garda capital in 2016. Under the transport heading, in 2016 alone, 520 new vehicles have come on stream to ensure that gardaí are mobile, visible and responsive on the roads and in the community to prevent and tackle crime. As I stated, before the end of the year another 191 vehicles will be bought at a cost of €4 million. This area has been neglected because there was no capital investment and stock had run down very considerably, as all Deputies realise. That is now being replenished. There will still be €4 million under the capital plan for new vehicles next year. A constant programme of replacement is needed for those vehicles.

It is expected that €53 million will be expended in Garda ICT capital in 2016. There will be significant expenditure on new systems. There will be new rosters and a duty management system to facilitate better management of resources, with a cost of €1.5 million. There will be investigations management systems to ensure enhanced management of crime investigations. This will ensure that PULSE does not just record incidents but that it also follows through on investigations. The cost attaching is €5.7 million. There will be technology to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, at €1.6 million, and Microsoft upgrades, at €5.2 million. I am very pleased we have been able to start the work on the Schengen information system II this year as we are one of the few countries in Europe that does not have interoperability with other countries on that system. This allows the Garda to work with international colleagues to develop the Irish Schengen information system II.

Aside from capital, there are a number of other overruns and savings in various subheads, including surplus receipts mainly relating to pension-related deductions, which are being rebalanced as part of the Supplementary Estimate process. I am particularly pleased that an additional amount of almost €3 million is being provided in subhead A2, maintenance of Garda premises, which provides funding for improvement and maintenance works to the Garda estate to support the effective discharge of the force's functions. This where gardaí can do this work in local Garda stations and although they are essential, they are smaller items of work. That is in contrast to larger-scale refurbishment with which, for example, the Office of Public Works and the Garda would be involved. As well as the relatively routine maintenance expenditure, significant improvements have been carried out at a wide number of locations throughout the country. These smaller non-capital projects are addressing security and health and safety matters in particular. In addition, a large number of Garda stations have received minor but necessary upgrade works to provide enhanced facilities for both members of An Garda Síochána and the public. There is a large-scale refurbishment programme that must go on, given the state of many of the Garda stations around the country. We must continue to invest in that area.

The Government recently agreed a five-year reform and high-level work force plan for An Garda Síochána. This is ambitious and has not previously been attempted by An Garda Síochána. It is a new departure that marries reform with resources. The resources in terms of personnel are backed up by the substantial capital investment already earmarked, as I outlined, for critical ICT systems, the transport fleet and Garda stations under the capital plan for 2016 to 2021. It is in the programme for Government and the supply-and-confidence agreement that we will increase the overall size of the Garda organisation to 21,000 by 2021. This will be made up of 15,000 gardaí but also a doubling of the number of civilians and the Garda Reserve. The recruitment for the Garda Reserve will start mid-year. This high-visibility policing will fulfil a key commitment in the programme for Government and is a direct response to what the public have told us they want to see happening. The funding secured for 2017 ensures we can make a strong start in realising this vision for the overall work force; 800 Garda trainees, up to 500 additional civilians and 300 new members of the reserve are to be recruited next year. These are ambitious targets but we will certainly focus on delivering them so we can reach the overall target in five years.

The net additional Supplementary Estimate requirement of €2 million in the courts Vote is made up of a gross expenditure of €3.5 million offset by a surplus in receipts of €1.5 million. The additional requirement is mainly accounted for by ICT capital expenditure to meet video link investment costs of €1 million and other essential ICT infrastructure, including network upgrades and replacement of various parts. Those costs are €1.5 million as well. The additional requirement also includes certain costs associated with works required for the second Special Criminal Court, reflect in the annual public private partnership payment in respect of the Criminal Courts of Justice. The additional receipts, which offset, in part, the cost of the Supplementary Estimates, mainly comprise income collected in the court examiner's office due to residual liquidation cases being dealt with by the office.

The final element of income from this source will materialise during 2017. The introduction of the Companies Act 2014 has ceased the requirement for fees to be paid on company liquidation cases dealt with by the examiner's office. The underspends in the other Votes across the justice sector, which are offsetting the cost of the Supplementary Estimates, mainly arise in payroll savings due to a longer lead-in time than expected for recruitment in some areas. Such savings will reverse in 2017 as recruitment plans are in place. There are other savings in a number of administrative and programme areas, including in the immigration area.

I recommend the Supplementary Estimates for the Garda Síochána and Courts Service Vote to the committee. I am happy to address any questions the members may have on them.