Ciarán Cuffe
Question:691 Mr. Cuffe asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the total cost of projects announced or promised by Ministers of the last Government between 1 January 2002 and 17 May 2002. [15299/03]
Written Answers. - Government Projects.
The information sought by the Deputy is as follows. In March 2002 it was announced that Government approval had been granted for revised funding of €19.027 million for the establishment of a shared services centre in the Department's finance division in Killarney. The timeframe for implementing the shared services centre is the three year period 2002 to 2004. In April 2002 sanction was obtained for an extension of the Garda national immigration bureau's computerised immigration registration system. The total expenditure sanctioned at that time was €5.044 million, exclusive of VAT. To date the total expenditure has been €4.415 million.
In January 2002 it was announced that funding of approximately €5.5 million would be made available for 23 new projects under the equality for women measure of the national development plan. These projects are being co-financed under the European Social Fund. All projects have commenced activity and range in duration from 12 months to 36 months. Under the Equal Opportunities Childcare Programme 2000 – 2006, funding committed during the period 1 January 2002 to 17 May 2002 was €28,868,421.
In April 2002 a proposal to approve the making available of up to 20 places in St. Patrick's Institution was put forward. In pursuance of this Government decision, the Prison Service proceeded with the adaptation of one residential wing of St. Patrick's Institution as well as the construction alongside that wing of a dedicated education unit, counselling rooms, as well as other ancillary services which could operate independently from the existing institution. The unit is now almost ready for occupation and expenditure to date is in the order of €8.4 million.
A new grant-aid scheme for community based CCTV systems was launched on 14 May 2002 to facilitate community based groups who wish to proceed with their own local CCTV system. Grant assistance of up to €100,000 will be avail able from my Department towards the cost of such schemes, subject to the availability of funds. A prospectus has been prepared to provide information on the scheme. A code of practice, drawn up in co-operation with the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner, and detailed technical specifications, drawn up by the Garda Síochána, are almost complete. It is expected that these documents will be finalised shortly and this will issue to all communities who express an interest in the scheme. Any applications received will be evaluated and processed. It is not possible to determine the actual costs of this scheme.