I move:—
That a sum not exceeding £63,730 be granted to complete the sum necessary to defray the Charges which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of March, 1957, for the salaries and expenses of the office of the Minister for Justice.
I propose, if the House agrees, to follow the same procedure as in previous years: that is, to have a general debate on the Estimates for which I am responsible as Minister for Justice so that specific questions may be raised. The Estimates in question, Nos. 29 to 37, are all for essential services. They are made up mainly of salaries, wages and allowances, and, apart from changes in rates of pay, they do not vary much from year to year. Accordingly, I do not think it necessary for me to go into a detailed explanation of the figures. The Estimates have, of course, increased in recent years on account of increases in rates of pay, but I can assure Deputies that every effort is being made by way of reorganisation and simplification of procedure to reduce expenditure to the minimum.
The aggregate amount of the nine Estimates is £5,469,650, an increase of £147,260 as compared with the year 1955-56, which represents an increase of 2.6 per cent.
The first Estimate, No, 29, is for a total of £95,530 for the Office of the Minister for Justice. It shows an increase of £3,908 as compared with last year. This is entirely due to increases in remuneration for all civil servants which were awarded with effect as from 1st November, 1955. The cost of the increases in remuneration is estimated at £6,750 per annum, but this sum, for the year 1956-57, is offset by the retrenchment of a clerical post, non-recurring provision amounting to £1,000 which was made last year to purchase equipment for the Film Censor's Office and the fact that there will be only 52 weekly pay days in 1956-57 as compared with 53 in the year 1955-56.
Last year, reference was made to the Adoption Act, 1952. The administration of this Act is proceeding smoothly. During the year 1955, 787 adoption orders were made as compared with 888 in 1954. At the end of 1955, there were 15 registered adoption societies. These societies placed 66 per cent. of the children in respect of whom adoption orders were made.
The next Estimate, No. 30, is for £4,740,940 for the Garda Síochána. It shows an increase of £125,072 as compared with the Estimate for 1955-56. This increase is due to two main causes: (1) An increase in Garda pay with effect as from 1st November, 1955, and (2) Increases in rent allowances with effect as from 1st July, 1955.
The increases in pay and allowances which total £211,452 are offset by a reduction of £87,985 in the provision for pensions and gratuities, etc. to members of the force and the dependents of deceased members. The reduction in the provision for pension and gratuities is due to the fact that retirements in the year 1955-56 were much less than anticipated. It was estimated that about 480 men would retire in that year and receive awards under the Garda Síochána Pensions Orders. The actual number was only 233 and the wastage from all causes during the year totalled 313. The decrease in the number of retirements from the force may be attributed to the raising, under the Garda Síochána (Retirement) Regulations, 1955, of the ordinary age of compulsory retirement for all ranks up to the rank of chief superintendent to 63 years. Provision has been made for awards under the Garda Síochána Pensions Orders to 270 members of the force during the year 1956-57. On 31st March last, 1,369 members of the force had 33 years' service or over and they are entitled, should they so wish, to retire and receive full pension awards.
The strength of the Garda Síochána as set out in sub-head A of the Estimate is estimated at 6,970, which figure includes 150 recruits to be enrolled during the year. The actual strength on 1st May, 1956, was 6,794, an increase of 114 as compared with 1st May, 1955. The overall strength of the force has fallen by 716 during the past eight years.
The Prisons Estimate, No. 31, at £185,740 is £3,720 less than last year. The daily average number of persons in custody has fallen over the past ten years from 683 to 396; the latter being the figure for 1955. When introducing the Estimates last year, I stated I was considering whether it would be possible, in consequence of the steady fall in the number of persons in custody, to close some of the prisons. As the number continued to decline in 1955 it was decided to close Cork and Sligo Prisons. The daily average number in custody in the former had not exceeded 15 and in the latter eight over the past five years. Cork Prison was closed on 31st March and Sligo Prison on 1st June.
Estimate No. 30 for the District Court is for £91,940 and shows an increase of £6,090. This increase is due to (1) the award by the arbitration board of improved salary scales to District Court clerks as from 22nd October, 1955; and (2) the general revision of Civil Service pay as from 1st November, 1955. The increased expenditure resulting from the foregoing has been offset by a saving of £1,500 in the provision for clerical assistance in provincial offices.
I do not think there is need for me to say anything about Votes Nos. 33 to 37 for the Supreme and High Court offices, the Land Registry and Registry of Deeds, the Public Record Office and the Office of Charitable Donations and Bequests. The Estimates for all these offices show increases which are due to the increase in remuneration awarded to all civil servants in November, 1955, to which I have previously referred.
It has been customary for the Minister for Justice, when introducing his Estimates, to give a brief review of the volume of crime. I am glad to be able to tell the House that the decrease in the number of indictable offences reported to the Garda Síochána in the year 1954 continued into 1955, although the decrease in the latter year was small. The actual decrease was 133, the number of indictable offences being 11,784. In the Dublin Metropolitan Division there was a decrease of 264 in the number of indictable offences but there was an increase of 131 over the rest of the country.
The decrease in indictable crime, although small, is a move in the right direction and I trust that it will continue. The number of indictable offences is, however, very much in excess of the pre-war average of about 6,500 per annum.
There was a slight increase in juvenile crime during the year 1955. The number of persons under 18 years of age known to have committed indictable offences was 2,654, an increase of 126 as compared with 1954. The number charged in court was 2,146, being 89 more than the number for 1954. It will be noted that 508 juveniles who committed offences were not charged in court. They were children under 14 years of age who were cautioned by district officers instead of being prosecuted.
There was a reduction of nearly 11,000 in the number of prosecutions for summary offences. The number of these prosecutions in 1955 was 99,489 as compared with 110,286 in 1954, and 104,188 in 1938. Deputies will note that prosecutions for summary offences have now fallen below the pre-war figure. Road traffic offences accounted for 52,979 of the prosecutions; offences under the Intoxicating Liquor Acts at 17,116 being the next highest, followed by 5,681 for unlicensed dogs; and 3,916 prosecutions under the School Attendance Acts. Road traffic prosecutions at 52,979 show a decrease of 9,031 as compared with 1954. This, as I suggested last year, is mainly due to the fact that there have been fewer prosecutions for trivial offences of a technical nature.
As I said at the start, these nine Estimates are all for essential services which vary little from year to year. This year's Estimates do not present any unusual features and I trust that the House will have no hesitation in approving of them.