Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 39: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the recommendations of the special group report on public service numbers and expenditure that he plans to implement during 2010; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12984/10]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The recommendations in the Special Group Report (McCarthy) have been taken into account in the budget negotiations for 2010 for the Justice Sector. The proposed savings in the Report in respect of the Justice Sector were €136.4 million. In monetary terms a significant proportion of the recommendations (€84 million) related to reductions in payroll costs on items such as allowances payable to members of the Garda Síochána and the Prisons Service.

In common with all Departments, there are significant reductions in payroll related provisions in 2010 to take account of the reductions in payroll rates and other factors. The overall reduction in gross payroll budgets for the Justice Sector compared with the 2009 estimate is in the region of €126 million.

In addition to these payroll reductions, the budgets in a number of programme subheads have also been reduced to deliver the level of savings required by Government. A number of theses reductions are also in line with the recommendations of the McCarthy Report.

These amount to reductions of €6.92 million across a range of programme subheads which include Gender Mainstreaming, Graffiti Removal Operations, Equality Monitoring Consultative Committees, European Refugee Fund and Refugee Integration. The McCarthy Report recommended a total reduction of some €5 million in respect of these particular items.

A number of recommendations were made by the McCarthy Group on structural reform and rationalisation across the Justice and Equality Sector. Decisions in respect of many of these recommendations will be a matter for decision by Government in due course and expenditure reductions that may arise will be included in the budget for the Sector in future years.

While it was never the intention that the full €134 million reduction recommended in the McCarthy report would be delivered in 2010, significant progress in this regard has been made. This is through a combination of the recommendation in the report and other measures being taken as part of the Government's budgetary policy.