asked the Minister for Justice the anticipated position for the remaining months of this year in regard to overtime for the Garda Síochána: and the amount which will be provided for each remaining month of this year.
22.
Ceisteanna—Questions Oral Answers. - Garda Overtime.
27.
asked the Minister for Justice the restrictions which have been placed on Garda overtime; the impact this will have on policing levels in the community; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I propose to take priority Question No. 27 and Question No. 22 together.
The provision for overtime in the Garda Síochána Vote in the current year is £12 million and no cutback in this amount has taken place or been proposed. This provision was made for the whole of 1986 and there is no question of there being a specific provision for any one month, though obviously as part of their internal management of resources, the Garda authorities must and do make arrangements to ensure that in so far as demands on their services require, the resources will be fairly spread over the various parts of the State and also throughout the year. Expenditure on overtime is at present being reviewed and monitored by the Garda authorities to ensure that the best possible return is being got from it. Any such review is likely to lead to some changes in the use of resources — indeed that is its purpose — but effective policing will be maintained in all areas. There is, of course, no question of the withdrawal of any essential Garda services.
How much has been spent on overtime to date?
I cannot give a figure for the amount spent as of the current date. Expenditure up to 30 April this year was £6.428 million.
Does the Minister agree that on basis of that expenditure it is most unlikely that the remainder of the money will be able to meet the requirements for the rest of the year? In that event what are the Minister's plans in relation to the remaining period?
Lest the Deputy be under any misapprehension I would point out to him the fact that the level of policing does not depend primarily on the provision that is made for overtime. It would be wrong for the Deputy to infer that there is any particular approach to the total level of services in the provision made for overtime. It is only part of the total picture.
In an earlier reply the Minister said there was never any question of a reduction in the provision of £12 million. Would the Minister accept that one cause of the alleged chaos among the gardaí in relation to overtime was his instruction following his finding that the amount of money spent so far this year was well in excess of the anticipated amount? One has only to look at the newspapers, in particular the Evening Herald of 14 May. The gardaí felt they would not be paid overtime to pursue criminals after hours, so to speak. Such statements were made by superintendents and other members of the Garda. I saw some of them in writing.
I suggested to the Deputy before that, with all respect to the newspapers, he should not take the evening papers as a bible or a basis for making statements. Overtime provision is only one element in the total provision of Garda resources. The Deputy is well aware that it is not part of the function of the Minister for Justice to give specific directions as to the allocation of Garda manpower in any particular area or at any particular time of the day. That is an operational matter for the gardaí.
Will the Minister give a forthright assurance, which can be conveyed to the superintendents and gardaí who are quite worried about this, that the anticipated level of overtime to the end of the year will be available for each month from now until the end of the year so that gardaí will be able to pursue criminals at weekends and outside their normal hours? Will he give a firm assurance that even if the £12 million allocated for the year is exceeded, no instruction will be issued to stop gardaí chasing criminals outside of normal hours?
I have made it very clear that I want to avoid any diminution in the provision of essential services by the gardaí. I do not want to see any reduction in the effective levels of policing. I should like to point out as gently as I can to Deputy Woods that, while I do not have any instructions to convey to superintendents, if there were, there are channels through which to do so.
Will the Minister tell us how the amount of overtime for the first four months of the year is so much ahead of the expected amount?
It would take a lengthy analysis to do that.
In general terms?
The Deputy should know that it is not possible, particularly in relation to an area like Garda overtime which is a margin of the total expenditure on personnel resources in the gardaí, to allocate a specific amount per month or per roster. One event can make a significant change in total expenditure.