I move:
That a supplementary sum not exceeding £11,007,000 be granted to defray the charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of December, 1975, for the salaries and expenses of the Garda Síochána, including pensions, etc; for payments of compensation and other expenses arising out of service in the Local Security Force; for the payment of certain witnesses' expenses; and for payment of a grant-in-aid.
The additional sum is required to meet extra expenditure arising on the Vote which was not foreseen when the original Estimate was being prepared.
It was not possible to seek the authority of the Dáil for this Supplementary Estimate before the summer recess as it was not clear at that stage what the eventual position was likely to be in regard to expenditure on overtime and so on, or indeed whether there might be savings on other subheads of the Vote which woud offset the extra money required.
In fact, it was necessary to wait until after the end of September, in order to have the expenditure returns for the first nine months of the year, before an accurate estimate could be framed as to what amount of money would be required for the full year.
Of the total extra sum required, £4,623,000 is needed to meet the cost of the extra pay granted to the Garda Síochána by arbitration at the end of 1974 in respect of work done on weekends, on public holidays and at night, including arrears for the year 1974. £2,666,000 is required to meet the cost of applying to the Garda Síochána the increases in pay under the national wage agreements, which were not provided for in the 1975 Estimate, and £60,000 represents the cost of extra pay to Garda Superintendents granted by the arbitration board. These sums contain an element in respect of overtime. An additional £3,000,000 is also needed in respect of overtime over and above the sum of £3,500,000 provided in the original Estimate, which, in turn, was almost £1,500,000 greater than the previous year's provision on a 12 month basis. The pay and allowances for the increase of 125 in the strength of the force authorised by the Government in January, 1975, necessitates a further provision of £250,000.
The balance of £408,000 is needed for payment to the Department of Posts and Telegraphs of the additional cost of telephone and teleprinter services and for the extra sum required for employers' contributions under the Social Welfare Acts.
Payments for Garda overtime have been increasing at a very rapid rate in the last two years to such an extent that, by August, 1975, they were running at an annual rate of about £9,000,000. Even making full allowance for our internal situation, this accelerating growth in the rate of overtime payments required to have the brake applied. This was done by arranging a selective cut-back in the amount of overtime. The cut-back introduced is estimated to effect a reduction of about £1,000,000 on this year's payments which will amount to about £8 million. This reduction is, however, relatively modest when seen in relation to the total cost of Garda services which amount to £52 million. Overtime payments are still running at a very high rate in comparison with previous years. In this connection the amount paid in overtime in 1972-73 was £2,524,359 as compared with about £8,000,000 in the current year and I cannot recall any unusual worry over the level of policing in that year.
In implementing the cut-back on overtime the Commissioner was given discretion as to where economies could be effected, with particular reference to securing the safety of the citizen. Although exaggerated accounts of cutbacks in services have appeared from time to time, there has been no diminution in essential Garda services.
The security situation continues to make heavy demands on Garda resources. Already this year there have been several incidents that have involved the Garda and the Army in large scale security operations for which substantial Garda overtime expenditure was necessary. The Garda Síochána have deployed large numbers for duty, for example, in providing protection at Portlaoise Prison and in dealing with the attempted break-out of prisoners from the prison in March last, the murder of Garda Reynolds in September and the kidnapping of Dr. Herrema this month.
I can assure the House that there was no stint as regards the resources made available in connection with any of these events. I know there has been widespread admiration for the success which has been attending Garda operations. Consideration of this whole area raises the important question of the deployment of the existing force and of increasing its strength. However, it would be premature to take a decision to strengthen the Garda Síochána until the management consultants currently employed to investigate the management of the force have submitted their report. This report too should be very useful in enabling the authorities to make fresh assessments of many aspects of the Garda including their deployment.
I commend this Supplementary Estimate to the House in the knowledge that all Members would wish to join me in paying tribute to the members of the force for their services and loyalty.