Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move the following Revised Estimates:

Vote 20 - An Garda Síochána (Revised)

That a sum not exceeding €1,782,581,000 be granted to defray the charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of December, 2020, 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.

Vote 21 - Prison Service (Revised)

That a sum not exceeding €383,211,000 be granted to defray the charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of December, 2020, 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 Service (Revised)

That a sum not exceeding €106,245,000 be granted to defray the charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of December, 2020, for such of 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 24 - Justice and Equality (Revised)

That a sum not exceeding €461,045,000 be granted to defray the charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of December, 2020, 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 cashlimited schemes administered by that Office, and payment of certain grants.

Vote 25 - Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (Revised)

That a sum not exceeding €6,733,000 be granted to defray the charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of December, 2020, for the salaries and expenses of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission and for payment of certain grants.

Vote 41 - Policing Authority (Revised)

That a sum not exceeding €3,366,000 be granted to defray the charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of December, 2020, for the salaries and expenses of the Policing Authority.

Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised)

That a sum not exceeding €16,686,000 be granted to defray the charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of December, 2020, for the salaries and expenses of the Data Protection Commission.

I am seeking the House's approval of the Revised Estimates for the justice Vote group to provide for much-needed expenditure across the justice sector. Subject to a small technical adjustment of less than €1 million, the Estimates being discussed today are those that were published last December. Pending the Estimates being passed by this House, Departments may spend an amount not exceeding 80% of the amount included in the Appropriation Act for the previous year. A number of Votes within the justice group could reach this four-fifths limit over the period from July to September, hence the necessity to have the existing Estimates reviewed that this point. There will be a number of areas to review and revisit later in the year, including in regard to direct provision and the impact of the Covid pandemic on certain Votes. The transfer functions arising from the reconfiguration of Departments will impact the Department of Justice and Equality Vote in particular, but the Revised Estimates today reflect the existing Vote structure.

The justice Vote group is made up of seven different Votes, with a combined gross expenditure allocation of €2.99 billion in 2020. This allocation comprises €2.72 billion in current expenditure and €269 million in capital expenditure. The gross expenditure Estimate for Vote 20, An Garda Síochána, is €1.879 billion, which amounts to 63% of the funding for the entire group. Since the Estimates were published last December, An Garda Síochána has been confronted with the challenge of Covid-19 and has had to put in place a number of measures to maintain the front-line and visible nature of the actions it has taken to counteract the impact of the pandemic throughout the State.

These measures include a revised emergency roster arrangement to facilitate longer shifts for teams. This arrangement helps to avoid crossover of members as much as possible, thereby minimising the risk of infection to members while at the same time maintaining the front-line service for members of the public. The revised roster has led to additional costs for unsocial hours payments. In addition, 319 trainee gardaí were attested ahead of schedule in March to provide more front-line resources. This followed the attestation of 201 trainee gardaí in February who had completed the full training period in Templemore.

An Garda Síochána has had to purchase significant quantities of personal protective equipment and, in the expectation that this requirement will continue to year end, the estimated cost is in the region of €13 million. While €9 million is being made available in the Estimates to the Garda Commissioner to strengthen and expand the Garda fleet, further additional investment in the fleet, including fit-out, of approximately €3 million will be required in 2020. This is directly as a result of the Covid-19 response. An Garda Síochána was required to hire 210 additional vehicles for community policing, which are estimated to cost €1.5 million over a six-month period.

The 2020 Estimates provided for an information and communications technology, ICT, investment of almost €74 million. This will support existing Garda ICT systems, enable them to be developed further to meet the ongoing business requirements of the force and enable gardaí to deploy the latest cutting-edge technologies in the fight against crime. This includes the deployment of front-line mobility hand-held devices, which give gardaí unprecedented flexibility on patrol and at crime scenes to access Garda ICT systems in real time. The very significant level of investment has also facilitated remote working throughout the organisation during the Covid crisis.

In addition to these resourcing measures, An Garda Síochána was given specific additional powers by the Government under the Covid-19 regulations. The previous Minister requested the Policing Authority to conduct a regular and independent assessment of the force's exercise of the temporary powers in support of the pubic health guidelines.

In all, five reports have been completed to date. It was found that An Garda Síochána is continuing to police the health crisis in a sensitive and proportionate manner and to use the powers under the health regulation only sparingly and when necessary. Throughout this emergency period, Garda members in all communities, rural and urban, have been reaching out to those who are most vulnerable, alone or afraid. Gardaí continue to encourage anyone who needs help to telephone their local Garda station. I wholeheartedly commend the Garda on the role it has played in keeping us safe in these unusual times.

The Estimate provides for €32 million for the capital building and refurbishment programme, including the completion of Fitzgibbon Street redevelopment project and the project to relocate An Garda Síochána from Harcourt Street to Military Road. Similar to most building projects in the State, these projects were on hold during the emergency period but are now up and running again. The OPW, which manages the projects on behalf of An Garda Síochána, is working with the various contractors involved to ascertain the progress and expenditure levels for the remainder of the year. It is expected there will be some reprofiling of expenditure across subheads before the end of the year. For example, if, as expected, there is an underspend in building capital, this will be utilised to offset the additional fleet investment cost due to Covid, etc.

Although An Garda Síochána is looking at every possible means to offset other additional Covid costs, the options are limited. Approximately 84% of the Votes relate to pay and superannuation costs which are, in effect, mainly fixed costs. That limits the capacity to absorb additional costs. The position will become clearer across the Vote later in the financial year, but the Garda Commissioner has indicated that additional funding will be required due to the scale of response required in respect of the Covid pandemic and after taking into account certain offsetting measures within the Vote.

In all the circumstances outlined, I am pleased to present an Estimate of €1.875 billion for 2020. There are now 14,700 Garda members in the service and 3,020 civilian employees. To date in 2020, a further 49 members have been redeployed to front-line policing duties, which brings the total number of redeployments to 650.

A capital provision of €116.5 million is being provided, an increase of 40% on the final Estimate for 2019. Despite the Covid restrictions and the delays to certain projects, it is anticipated that the vast bulk of this funding will be spent at the year end, particularly in the context of ICT and the transport fleet.

A well resourced and funded Garda force is a top priority for the Government. These levels of investment are complemented by an extensive policing transformation programme which will ensure a modern and fit-for-purpose policing service for the many outstanding people who work in An Garda Síochána and the public that it serves.

Vote 24, Justice and Equality, has a gross estimate provision of almost €536 million. This is broken down into five separate programmes comprising almost 60 separate subheads. Substantial funding has been made available to agencies that play a pivotal role in the criminal justice area, such as Forensic Science Ireland, FSI, and the Criminal Assets Bureau, CAB. A total budget of €57 million is being provided to FSI in 2020, of which €39.6 million is capital. Although a contract has been awarded and work has commenced on the construction of its new laboratory in Backweston, County Kildare, it appears likely that there will be a significant underspend in this budget in 2020 and it will need to be reprofiled for later this year. The OPW is currently working with the contractor to determine the impact of the restrictions on spend in the current year. Further additional funding of €2.1 million in current expenditure has been provided in response to the increased workload of FSI, as well as the complexity of cases.

Additional funding of €500,000 will bring the total allocation for the Criminal Assets Bureau to €9.1 million. CAB plays a crucial role in tackling money laundering and targeting the proceeds of crime. Across Ireland, CAB is working to ensure that criminals cannot enjoy the spoils of their illegal activities. The increased resources will support CAB in this vital work.

It has been possible to increase the resources available to several regulatory bodies, including the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission, to which an additional €500,000 has been allocated, bringing the total allocation to €11.2 million. An additional €500,000 will bring the allocation for the Private Security Authority to €3.8 million in 2020. A significant increase of €700,000 brings resources for the Inspector of Prisons to €1.2 million. Funding of €1 million has been provided for the establishment of the Judicial Council, bringing the total allocation to €1.25 million. The Legal Aid Board has been allocated €42.2 million for 2020, which includes a further €1 million in addition to existing funding to continue the Abhaile scheme for mortgage arrears.

The Department's mission is to make Ireland safer, fairer and more inclusive. I am pleased that a total allocation of more than €930,000 is being made available for equality and LGBTI+ initiatives. Funding for victims of crime has increased by €200,000, bringing the total allocation to €1.9 million.

It was acknowledged in budget 2020 that the funding requirements and policy responses in respect of accommodation for seekers of international protection will need to be kept under review on a whole-of-Government basis throughout the year. The budgetary provision in this regard in 2020 is €80.6 million. Expenditure in 2019 was €130 million and is almost €83 million to the end of June 2020. The Covid-19 restrictions have impacted on costs, including the need to secure additional hotel spaces in order to help reduce contacts within centres and to provide self-isolation facilities in a several locations in conjunction with the HSE. It has been necessary to purchase PPE, sanitiser and many other products in order to reduce the risk of an outbreak in centres. This area is giving rise to significant additional costs which, as I outlined, will need to be addressed in the autumn.

On a related matter, an expert advisory group chaired by Dr. Catherine Day which was announced in December 2019 is now expected to submit its final report in September 2020. The group, which is unconstrained by current or past policy, has been tasked to examine the provision of State supports, including accommodation, for those in the international protection asylum process. The programme for Government commits in the short term to acting on interim recommendations from the chairperson of the expert group to improve conditions for asylum seekers currently living in the system. In addition, the programme contains a commitment to replace the current accommodation model with a new international protection accommodation policy centred on a not-for-profit approach. It is expected that the report of the expert group will contain recommendations on new models for accommodation and other supports for applicants for international protection which will inform future policy in this area.

The travel restrictions as a result of Covid will have a significant negative impact on registration and visa fee income in 2020 in particular. The precise impact depends on the length of time for which the restrictions are in place. A proportion of the registration fee income relates to renewal of registrations rather than new registrations. A clearer picture will emerge closer to the end of the financial year.

Turning to the Vote 21, Prisons, the gross Estimate in 2019 is €392.4 million. The additional current expenditure is almost €19 million compared with the corresponding budget in 2019, including €14 million in respect of additional payroll costs and €5 million across several areas to meet the demands arising from higher prisoner numbers and increased maintenance costs of the prisons estate. The capital budget for 2020 has increased significantly, from €32.3 million last year to €46.7 million. Most of this will be utilised for the redevelopment of Limerick Prison. The potential impact on the project in 2020 due to Covid is unclear. There is likely to be an underspend due to the site restrictions and the impact of social distancing and supply chain issues after the restriction period. A full financial analysis is currently being carried out with the contractor but, although progress will be made, there may be an underspend in capital by year end.

Additional Covid-related costs in the prisons are currently estimated to be in the region of €4 million to 5 million in total. These are preliminary costings and the final cost will depend on the length of the emergency and the impact on the prisons. The costs mainly relate to PPE, additional video link facilities for remote court attendance and additional payroll costs in respect of cover for officers in isolation. To date, no prisoner has been infected with Covid-19 and the Irish Prison Service, IPS, has been internationally recognised for its work in controlling the spread of the virus. It has now shared its experience with other countries through the submission of a paper to the World Health Organization on its approach to the outbreak. It represents a very strong collective effort that has been made during the Covid-19 pandemic by IPS staff, management and prisoners, as well as Red Cross volunteers . The new infection prevention and control teams that are in place in all prisons have made a significant contribution to the successful handling of the virus. This work is something with which we should be particularly pleased and should be commended. It is vitally important that these efforts continue in order to maintain this remarkable safety record.

A total gross Estimate of €156.4 million is being provided for the Courts Service under Vote 22. This encompasses an additional €1.5 million in day-to-day running costs, €10 million in capital expenditure and a further €4.5 million in gross expenditure on capital and current building works, which has been funded from the dormant courts fund.

However, since the Estimate was published, the Courts Service's income has been severely impacted by the Covid emergency. The full impact will not be known until later in the year but there could be a shortfall of €17 million, or 40%, in fee income, which would be unsustainable for the Courts Service's Vote. We will need to address this before the end of the year in conjunction with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. Approximately €9 million is accounted for in the fall-off in fee income from social exemption orders for the licensed trade and hospitality industry. The Courts Service projects that the equivalent of three months of civil business, from April, May and June, will be lost due to Covid-19, with a shortfall in income of approximately €8 million.

A gross Estimate of €16.9 million is being provided to the Data Protection Commission. This is Vote 44, which in 2020 is a separate Vote for the first time. This allocation includes an increase of €1.6 million or 11% compared with the previous year. The Data Protection Commission budget has increased significantly in recent years as the responsibilities and functions of the office have expanded.

A gross Estimate of €3.4 million has been provided for the Policing Authority Vote, which is Vote 41. The gross expenditure budget for the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, which is Vote 25, is €6.8 million, to enable it to continue its important work in promoting and protecting human rights and equality.

With the approval of this House, these Estimates will fund the seven Votes in the justice sector with the financial resources to continue to provide the necessary and varied range of functions and responsibilities across the justice sector. I welcome the opportunity to discuss the Revised Estimate with colleagues in the House.

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