I move:—
That a supplementary sum not exceeding £39,400 be granted to defray the Charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending 31st March, 1948, for the Salaries and Expenses of the Garda Síochána (No. 7 of 1925, No. 10 of 1926, No. 5 of 1937, No. 19 of 1941 and Nos. 1 and 17 of 1945) and for payments of compensation and other expenses arising out of service in the Local Security Force (No. 19 of 1946).
As will be seen from the Estimate it has been calculated that the original Estimate for the Garda Síochána will fall short of requirements under a number of sub-heads. The total of these deficiencies amounts to £61,630. It is estimated, however, that Appropriations-in-Aid will produce £6,610 more than the original Estimate and that there will be savings on other sub-heads amounting in the aggregate to £15,620. The net amount required as a Supplementary Vote is, accordingly, £39,400.
The deficiency in the Estimates for allowances is due to the fact that the allowances were increased by the Garda Síochána Allowances (Consolidation) Order, 1947, which was made on the 31st March, 1947. The increased allowances had not been fixed when the Estimate was prepared. A provision of £14,933 was, in fact, included in the original Estimate to meet the expected increase of allowances but this sum has proved insufficient.
The deficiency in the Estimate for subsistence allowances is due to the fact that there was abnormal expenditure on these allowances during the current year owing to the employment of members of the Garda as enumerators for the Register of Population and their employment on special duties at polling stations and elsewhere in connection with the general election
No provision was made in the original Estimate for an issue of uniforms during the current financial year. In fact, however, although no issue was to be made it was found that it would be cheaper to order uniform materials during the year on standing contracts and accordingly a Supplementary Estimate has become necessary.
The Supplementary Estimate for Local Security Force compensation is required to provide for the payment of arrears of a pension which has been awarded—under the Local Security Force (Compensation for Personal Injuries) Scheme—to a widow and five children of a member of the Local Security Force who lost his life on the 25th December, 1940. The case was not brought to the notice of the Department of Justice until the present year.