James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chairman and committee members for making time available to consider Supplementary Estimates for the Garda and prison Votes and technical Supplementary Estimates for the courts and justice Votes. I am joined by my officials from the Department, Mr. Seamus Clifford, acting director of finance, and Mr. Aonghus O'Connor, principal officer.

A net Supplementary Estimate requirement of €78.97 million arises in respect of the Vote of An Garda Síochána for this year.

This comprises a gross expenditure requirement of €97.8 million, which is offset by a projected surplus in appropriations-in-aid receipts of €18.8 million, giving a net additional requirement of almost €79 million for the Garda Vote.

For the most part, the additional requirement is due to the impact of pay increases under the Building Momentum agreement of approximately €46 million and additional capital expenditure of some €25 million. Similar to any Supplementary Estimate, there is an element of offsetting of overspends and underspends across subheads as we approach the end of the financial year. In the region of €18 million in surplus receipts, mainly relating to additional superannuation contributions, is offsetting expenditure in other subheads, including for certain inflationary costs.

Payroll and superannuation costs account for over 80% of the Garda Vote. In the current year, an additional payroll requirement of some €40 million arises between the admin (i) and A13 Garda College subheads and €25.8 million in respect of the superannuation subhead. This is mainly due to the backdated cost to February of the pay increase under Building Momentum. There is an increased requirement in overtime expenditure of some €29.5 million compared with the original allocation of €95 million. Excluding the impact of pay increases under Building Momentum, the additional overtime cost has been offset in large part by underspends in other elements of Garda pay including due to lower levels of recruitment than expected in 2022.

The additional overtime expenditure has arisen mainly due to the investigation of organised and serious crime-related activities, high-profile fatal incidents and the return of the night-time economy post Covid restrictions. An Garda Síochána has placed particular focus on antisocial behaviour, public order, assaults and drug-related crimes. This is supported through initiatives such as Operation Citizen in Dublin city centre, with increased visible policing, particularly at key locations. It is important to note also that up to 1,000 trainee gardaí are expected to commence in the training college in five batches of 200 throughout 2023. It is planned that another recruitment competition will take place early in 2023 to ensure that the levels of intake to the Garda College can be sustained at this high level in the future.

I am particularly pleased that the Government is in a position to provide approximately €25 million in additional capital funding to An Garda Síochána in the Supplementary Estimate process. This is in addition to an unprecedented €146.5 million in the original budget for 2022. In summary, circa €6.2 million of this additional funding is in respect of building capital and refurbishment work. This includes inflation-related costs under the Government’s burden-sharing arrangement with contractors in relation to the new Garda building in Dublin 8. This state-of-the-art building has recently been handed over to An Garda Síochána by the OPW. A further €14.6 million of the additional capital is ICT-related and €4.3 million is for the Garda transport fleet. It is expected that this will provide for approximately 122 additional vehicles for the fleet throughout the country in urban and rural areas.

In this centenary year, I would like to take this opportunity to particularly thank An Garda Síochána for the outstanding work it carries out in communities the length and breadth of the country. I am especially pleased that it is possible to continue to strengthen the resources available to the organisation, particularly when it comes to underpinning and supporting its continuing reform and modernisation programme.

A net Supplementary Estimate of €11.97 million is required in 2022 in respect of the Prisons Vote. This comprises a gross expenditure requirement of €12.8 million, which is offset by a projected surplus in appropriations-in-aid of €800,000, giving a net additional requirement of just under €12 million for the Prisons Vote. The additional requirement mainly arises due to the impact of pay increases under the Building Momentum agreement and the impact of additional prisoner numbers and inflationary costs on prison services.

In total, it is expected that there will be an overrun on the payroll subhead of approximately €11.77 million. This is mainly due to the cost of pay increases of circa €7.7 million and additional hours costs of circa €4.1 million related to cover for Covid-related absences and staffing pressures linked to increased prisoner numbers and escort requirements to courts and hospitals. One of the larger areas of overspend in the non-pay current expenditure subheads across the vote relates to subhead A4, prison services, of €2.218 million for medical and catering services. These costs are directly linked to inflationary cost pressure and also the impact of increased prisoner numbers.

The additional requirements have been offset by expected current expenditure underspends in subheads such as subhead A7, compensation, of €1.025 million. There is a projected surplus in appropriations-in-aid receipts of approximately €828,000, which is mainly accounted for by additional superannuation contributions. This has also reduced the net Supplementary Estimate requirement. The prisons Vote will also have a capital carryover requirement of €3.2 million from 2022 to 2023.

I am very pleased that the major development project for Limerick Prison is almost complete, with the new accommodation for males due to become operational shortly. This will result in an additional 90 prisoner cell spaces being available, and the completion of a new stand-alone female prison in Limerick will provide modern accommodation for approximately 22 additional prisoners.

A technical Supplementary Estimate of €1,000 is required in respect of the courts Vote. There is no additional funding required for the Vote. The technical Supplementary Estimate arises mainly due to the additional costs of the Building Momentum pay increases of approximately €1.8 million and pressures in other subheads, including due to inflationary costs related to certain services. These costs are offset by underspends in other subheads and a relatively small surplus in courts fee income of approximately €1.5 million. This is largely due to a return of courts civil business to pre-Covid levels. It will also be necessary to carry forward unspent capital of €1.85 million - mainly courthouse capital works - to facilitate the completion of certain capital projects in 2023.

A technical Supplementary Estimate of €1,000 is required in respect of the Justice Vote. There is no additional funding required for the vote. The technical Supplementary Estimate is required to utilise surplus receipts to offset additional costs in the gross part of the Vote. This relates to the cost of the response to the Ukrainian crisis, estimated at circa €6 million; the cost of pay increases under Building Momentum of approximately €5.4 million; overspends in demand-led areas such as legal costs of approximately €4 million; criminal legal aid schemes at circa €7.6 million, and commissions and special inquiries at €4 million. There is also an additional capital requirement of circa €3.29 million in respect of the new Forensic Science Laboratory, mainly due to inflation-related costs under the Office of Government Procurement inflation framework, managed by the OPW on behalf of the Department.

There are offsetting underspends in a number of other subheads, with the largest element of the offset relating to the surplus immigration and visa fees of circa €24 million. The surplus has arisen due to the large increase in registration applications over 2021 and prior years across both first-time applicants and renewals as the country reopened and universities and colleges reverted to onsite learning.

In conclusion, I recommend the Supplementary Estimates to the committee and I am happy to address any questions.