Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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567. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if she will provide the details of costings provided to the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, in the context of the National Development Plan 2021-2030 review conducted earlier this year; and to provide a breakdown of each project and its projected cost in each of the years 2025 to 2030. [42721/24]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Capital allocations are negotiated with the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform for the Justice Sector which includes my Department, An Garda Síochána, the Courts Service and the Irish Prison Service. Negotiations took place earlier this year in relation to capital allocations for 2024-2026. Funding remains to be allocated for the years 2027-2030

I have prioritised building stronger, safer communities. In support of this I was very pleased, during those negotiations, to secure additional funding under the National Development Plan which now contains investment of over €300 million a year in capital projects for the Justice sector. This capital investment will support a number of areas such as ICT, transport investment and capital building and refurbishment works in An Garda Síochána, the Irish Prison Service, the Courts Service and my own Department.

The original capital allocations for the Justice sector were as follows:

2024 €274m

2025 €278m

2026 €278m

I secured an additional €93 million for Justice capital projects in 2024-2026 bringing the total budget to €923 million including over €500 million for Garda Capital Programmes.

2024 €283m

2025 €310m

2026 €330m

As many of the projects envisaged are at the early stages of implementation and procurement, the Deputy will understand that it is not possible to provide the projected costs of each project for reasons of commercial sensitivity. However, I can confirm that the funding provided will support the delivery of:

• Significant additional prison capacity with four capital projects planned at Castlerea, Cloverhill, the Midlands and Mountjoy prisons. This will ensure Ireland’s prison facilities can accommodate people committed to prison by our courts.
• Implementation of my Department’s IT Strategy including enhancement of immigration IT systems to support an increase in the number of applications processed.
• New Garda stations in Bailieborough, Portlaoise, Newcastle West, Macroom and Clonmel.
• An unprecedented investment of almost €100 million per annum in Garda ICT projects, including the roll out of Body Worn Cameras and enhanced IT infrastructure which enables and equips our Gardaí to carry out their front-line duties far more efficiently.
• A new aeroplane and two new helicopters to support the Garda Air Support Unit in its Border Operations and fight against organised crime.
• An investment of €10m per annum to continue to modernise the Garda fleet, providing a range of new vehicles, public order vehicles and water cannons which will support detection and enforcement of serious crime and management of public order.