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 31 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 Dail. That Vote group is made up of eight 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 to the specifics I should say I am pleased with the funding level available to the sector in 2016, an increase of over 6% on the corresponding Revised Estimates for 2015. 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 the €5 million 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 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 Revised Estimates Volume, 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, €35.2 million net, for 2015, there is an overall increase in the Garda Vote of €83 million in 2016. The main expenditure items include pay at €971 million, including an overtime budget of €91.5 million by year end.

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