Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 12 December 2019
109. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the capital allocation of his Department in each of the years 2020 to 2025; and the areas to which funds will be allocated in each year. [52215/19]
View answerThe capital allocations for the Justice Sector are set out in the recent Budget Day publication and are as follows;
2020 - €265 million
2021 - €208 million
2022 - €216 million
The 2020 allocation of €265 million is spread across the votes in the Justice Vote Group with the Department's vote being allocated almost €40 million – mainly for the Forensic Science Laboratory project; Garda Síochána Vote €116.5m; Prisons Vote €46.7 million and Courts Vote €61.5 million.
The capital allocations for later years have yet to be determined.
Increased levels of public investment in Justice are a critical foundation of the National Development Plan 2018-2027. The plan sets out capital allocations in the Justice sector from 2018 to 2022. The main areas of capital investment for the sector in the period to 2027 are as follows:
- Forensic Science Laboratory
- Garda Divisional Headquarters in Kevin Street and Galway
- Replacement of the Harcourt Square Complex
- Garda Station Building and Refurbishment Programme
- Garda ICT Programme
- New or refurbished courthouses in a number of provincial cities and county towns
- Redevelopment of Limerick Prison
- Development of Mountjoy Prison Campus
- Family Law and Children's Court Complex on Hammond Lane
The plan also recognises that increased population growth in the next ten years as envisaged under the National Planning Framework will also create new demands in terms of the current accommodation stock across the sector including in relation to policing, prisons and courts. Hence, the requirement for additional public capital infrastructure for the criminal justice system.
My Department is also developing its analytical capability to be better placed to predict future trends including demographic changes and thus better inform both policy developments and budgetary requirements in the years ahead.
