I move:—
That a sum not exceeding £122,310 be granted to complete the sum necessary to defray the charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of March, 1965, for the Salaries and Expenses of the Office of the Minister for Justice, and of certain other services administered by that Office, including certain Grants-in-Aid; and of the Public Record Office, and of the Keeper of State Papers, and for the purchase of Historical Documents, etc.
With your permission, a Cheann Comhairle, and on the assumption that the House agrees, I propose to follow established practice and to treat the six Votes for which I am responsible as one group, so that there may be one general discussion, without, of course, prejudicing the right of any Deputy to raise a particular point on any individual Vote.
Deputies will recall that my Department's Estimates for last year were not taken in the House until February of this year, that is, four months ago. On that occasion, my introductory speech covered developments up to then. In view of the shortness of the interval since that general review of my Department's activities, I intend to be briefer than usual on this occasion.
So far as the headquarters of the Department are concerned, the most notable event since I spoke here in February was the Third Conference of European Ministers of Justice, which, as Deputies are aware, was held here in Leinster House at the end of May. The Conference, which was convened under the auspices of the Council of Europe, was attended by delegations from 16 member countries, and by observers from Finland and Spain. It would be remiss of me, a Cheann Comhairle, if I did not express my deep gratitude to you and to the Cathaoirleach of the Seanad for placing the facilities of this building at the disposal of the Conference in such a generous and co-operative manner. The members of both Houses may take a justifiable pride in the facilities provided, which were the subject of very favourable comment from our distinguished visitors. I am satisfied that in its working sessions the Conference made a significant contribution to the ideals of the Council of Europe, and that the informal exchanges of views outside the formal sessions have helped to further mutual understanding and trust among the participants.
Deputies will, I am sure, be interested to know that under an arrangement approved by the Government, a group of students from Northern Rhodesia are being trained in our public services in preparation for their assuming important responsibilities as administrators in their own country, when it becomes the independent state of Zambia towards the end of this year. Four young administrators have been assigned to my Department and are being trained in duties relating to the courts, the Garda Síochána and the prison services, and are absorbing a knowledge of working methods with very commendable speed. We are very glad to have them with us, and are gratified that Northern Rhodesia should see fit to turn to us for guidance in the administration of justice and that we should have this opportunity of helping even in a small way an emerging African nation and its people.
Before mentioning facts and figures in relation to the Garda Síochána, I should like to mention two important recent developments affecting the Force.
First, the transfer of the Training Centre from Dublin to Templemore took place in the second half of February, and training courses for recruits, and promotion and other courses are now in full swing there. The accommodation and facilities provided are of a very high order, and should lead to even greater efficiency in the Force, the standards of which, I am happy to say, are already very high. The local authorities and people of Templemore have, by the warmhearted welcome they have extended to their new neighbours, shown their appreciation of the Government's policy in the field of decentralisation.
The second interesting item is the recently-announced scheme for the reorganisation and expansion of the Dublin Metropolitan Garda Division. This involves the merging with the present Division of a number of subdistricts at present surrounding it, so that the new Dublin Metropolitan Garda area will stretch from Howth on the north side to Bray on the south. This new arrangement is part of a general reorganisation scheme, the object of which is to increase efficiency and to distribute Garda personnel and services where they are most needed to combat crime. As Deputies may be aware Dublin with less than 25 per cent of the State's population has over 50 per cent of the indictable crimes committed within its boundaries. The new Metropolitan Area will be divided into two Divisions, each under the supervision of a chief superintendent and subject to administrative control from Dublin Castle.
Garda expenditure for the current year is estimated at £7,772,980 which shows a net increase of £120,230 on the Estimate for last year. The greatest part of this increase is in subhead H, the pensions subhead, and is due partly to an increase in the number of pensioners and partly to the increase in pensions that was granted to Garda pensioners, like other State pensioners, from 1st November, 1963. In subhead B—Travelling and Incidental Expenses—additional provision has been made to meet the increases in subsistence and other allowances, which were granted in February last, in settlement of claims submitted under the Conciliation and Arbitration Scheme and which will cost approximately £44,000 this year. The decision, to which attention is drawn in the Notes in the Book of Estimates, to transfer to the appropriate Votes the charges previously carried by the Vote for Posts and Telegraphs in respect of services rendered by that Department, is mainly responsible for the increase in subhead C. Subheads E and F have been increased to meet the cost of furniture for the Templemore Training Centre and replacements in and additions to Garda vehicular strength. The provision of additional equipment, such as Scotchlite belts, reflective triangles and a mobile crime detection unit, has also contributed to the increases.
There is an apparent decrease in the provision for pay. This is because the figure shown for 1963-64 includes the provision last year, in a Supplementary Estimate, for payment of arrears of pay from January, 1963, following the pay increase awarded at Arbitration. The 1963-64 figure, therefore, includes approximately £100,000 in respect of 1962-63. I should mention, however, that it will be necessary later in the year to introduce a Supplementary Estimate to meet the ninth round pay increase that was awarded to the Garda Síochána from 1st February of this year. It will be in the region of £700,000. This will result in an increase in the total estimate for subhead A this year. The provision for pensions will also need to be increased as a result of the pay increases.
There is a substantial increase in the estimate for appropriations in aid. This is mainly due to an increase in the contribution from the Road Fund to the Garda Vote in respect of expenses incurred by the Garda Síochána in the enforcement of road traffic laws.
I have referred on previous occasions to proposals to close down stations or reduce them to one-man units. I wish to assure Deputies that I only approve of a proposal of this sort when I have been satisfied beyond all doubt after a most careful examination of all the circumstances that by reason of the absence of crime, the sparsity of population and the control that can be exercised from adjoining stations, it can be implemented with a saving to the public purse and without detriment to the policing of the area concerned. In the calendar year 1963 three stations were closed and two reduced to one-man units.
I am happy to be able to report that progress is being maintained in the provision of suitable accommodation for the Force. Fifteen new stations with 19 married quarters were completed during the past year and 70 new houses for married members were provided by the National Building Agency. Work is in progress at present on 19 new stations and 300 houses.
I know that most Deputies will agree with me when I say that the most important duty of the Minister for Justice is the preservation of law and order and the protection of the community against crime. While we are in this country very fortunate in this regard when compared to most of our European neighbours we must never become complacent and we should be anxious at all times both to counter disturbing trends and improve the existing situation where possible.
`I mentioned in connection with last year's Estimate that the provisional figures for indictable crime for the nine months ended 30th June, 1963, indicated that the final figures for the year ended 30th September, 1963, would show a fairly substantial upward trend and this turned out to be the case. The figure for 1963 was, in fact, 16,203 as against 15,307 in the preceding year and 14,818 in the year before that.
The most significant incease was in the numbers of housebreakings and similar crimes which, in the year ended 30th September, 1963, amounted to 4,006 as against 3,466 for 1962 and 3,186 for 1961. 1,047 assaults and other offences against the person were recorded as against 885 and 701 in the corresponding years. These increases are disturbing, particularly as they come in the categories comprising serious types of crime.
It is clear if we are to maintain or even improve our position as a community in the light of trends and developments elsewhere that a comprehensive and sustained effort will be required by all concerned. The main contribution will have to come from the Garda Síochána and in this connection I would like to assure the House that I am constantly keeping under review, their strength, location, morale, discipline, methods of training and equipment and I am satisfied that the Force is in good shape and well-equipped for the prevention of crime and the apprehension of criminals.
It is a matter of some significance that 40 per cent of all persons convicted of indictable crimes last year were under 17 years of age. A particular effort must be made by parents, teachers and others who have close contact with young persons to inculcate into them sound principles and respect for authority and the law. The Garda are participating on an increasing scale in the formation of youth clubs: they believe, and I believe, that the youth clubs can play a very strong part in the disciplining of young people for their own and the community's good.
Owners of property have a duty and a part to play and I would like again to appeal to property owners to make it as difficult as possible for the criminal, particularly the petty larcenist. Locking of doors and windows, locking of motor-cars are elementary precautions but it is surprising how many people who pride themselves on their commonsense and their practical approach to life's problems who neglect simple precautions of this kind.
In my speech on last year's Estimates, I outlined the steps that the Garda are taking to ensure that premises are less vulnerable to the thief. I referred to the special Preventive Unit that has been set up in Dublin which, among other duties, surveys premises and advises the owners of precautionary steps they might take, and to the fact that the Garda in the rest of the country provide similar advisory services. I would urge owners to co-operate wholeheartedly with the Gardaí in this regard. The Garda cannot be everywhere and everyone must play his part in frustrating the criminal.
The courts, too, have a vital part to play by imposing sentences which are realistic and appropriate in all the circumstances of the case. In this connection I hope that justices and judges will take account of the progress of our penal reform programme and in deciding for and against gaol sentences will have regard to its emphasis on the rehabilitation of prisoners.
The overall detection rate for all indictable crimes rose to 69 per cent in 1963 from 66 per cent in 1962. In Dublin it was 52 per cent as compared with 47 per cent in 1962, and outside Dublin it was 84 per cent as compared with 85 per cent in 1962. I should like to mention again that these detection rates are regarded as excellent in police circles, and compare very favourably with those of other countries in comparable conditions. Last year's improvement in the detection rate is all the more gratifying on that account.
The total number of prosecutions for summary offences was 101,467 in 1963, as against 105,189 in 1962, and 104,057 in 1961. The number of prosecutions for Road Traffic offences was 74,853 as against 77,203 in 1962. The decrease in prosecutions for these offences is undoubtedly due to the operation of the fines-on-the-spot scheme for parking offences in Dublin which came into operation on 1st April, 1963. By 31st March, 1964 approximately 44,000 notices had been served.
I availed of the recent visit here of the European Ministers of Justice to compare notes with my colleagues from abroad on these matters. I am satisfied from these informal discussions that we are proceeding along the right lines in this country and that our position is not, in general, unsatisfactory. To sum up, I would say that the present situation is one that calls neither for alarm nor complacency but simply for eternal vigilance.
The Estimate for Prisons at £328,640, is £11,920 more than last year's. The increase arises in the main from the fact that, under the new arrangements made between the Department of Posts and Telegraphs and the other State Departments, the prisons service will now for the first time pay for its postal, telephone and telegraph services, at a cost of £5,837. The balance of the increase arises chiefly from additional provision to the extent of £3,792 for victualling in prisons, reflecting some increase in the cost of foodstuffs and a rather larger estimated prison population, which during 1963 showed a daily average increase of 43 over the previous year. The total number in custody under sentence nowadays is around 480 which shows that the upward trend is continuing. But, as I remarked earlier, the figure is low, comparatively speaking.
The prisons building programme, to which I referred here some months ago is now well under way: in Mountjoy prison the building of an extension to the corrective training wing was begun early last autumn and will provide for still greater segregation of special grade trainee prisoners and of those prisoners who, in the closing stages of their sentences, sleep within the walls but go out every morning to employment outside the prison. The modernisation of the prison hospital has been completed, the work of converting the old hospital building into an intern officers' quarters is nearing completion and the new bakery is in operation. In the other prisons, work is well advanced on the renovation and improvement of the older parts of existing buildings and on new installations, including improved heating, laundry and ablution facilities and new quarters for intern officers.
As Deputies know I am not happy about the location, or the workshop and recreational facilities of St. Patrick's Institution, that is, the juvenile prison, and for some time my Department have been making inquiries with a view to procuring a suitable new site in the vicinity of Dublin. The very great majority of the offenders are committed from Dublin and must resume their ordinary lives on release in Dublin and on that account and for various other reasons I feel that the location of any institution which we might build must be within a reasonable distance of Dublin so that parents, relatives and friends of these youths may be able to visit them. If any Deputy knows of 15 to 20 acres going at a reasonable price which would suit our purpose, I should be obliged to hear from him.
On the debate on last year's Estimates, I outlined the work of the inter-Departmental Committee which I set up in September, 1962, to inquire into the existing methods for the prevention of crime and the treatment of offenders, and I described the principal recommendations made to me by the Committee in relation to our prison system, the Children's Court, the probation service and the role of the Gardaí in the prevention of juvenile delinquency. I am happy to be able to say that the changes being introduced are working out very smoothly and are already giving most encouraging results. Furthermore, study visits abroad for senior prison personnel have been arranged under the auspices of the Council of Europe and these provide opportunities for the examination of the effectiveness of methods employed elsewhere.
The statutory powers to grant temporary release are being increasingly used in the case of prisoners who are making good progress and for whom outside employment can be obtained while their sentences are running. The exercise of these powers is an invaluable means of smoothing the transition from detention to freedom and also of ensuring, as far as possible, that the prisoner on his final discharge is already on his feet as a useful member of society. In the six months from September, 1963 to February, 1964 inclusive, four prisoners were discharged to take up employment before completion of their sentences while six others were released each day to outside employment. The corresponding figures in the case of St. Patrick's Institution are three and seven. A grant of temporary release on other grounds was made in a total of 12 other cases, usually for reasons connected with family difficulties or bereavements.
The work of securing outside employment for promising prisoners has so far been carried out by the existing prison personnel and we may hope for greatly enlarged possibilities for this type of approach to the problem of reintegrating the prisoner in society when the two new prison Welfare Officers take up duty. The appointments in these cases have now been ratified as have the appointments of a Probation Administration Officer, the new head of the probation service, and of the additional Probation Officers and I am satisfied that with these recruitments, together with the assistance of the voluntary probation workers—of whom three groups in Dublin alone now have recognised status—we should have an adequate probation service within a comparatively short time.
Apart from the probation service, the Juvenile Liaison Officers attached to the Dublin Metropolitan Division of the Garda Síochána are now an active force in the field of preventive justice. Case-work in this new service commenced last September and up to the end of January nearly two hundred juvenile first offenders had been dealt with. A Ban-Gharda has recently been added to the team to look after suitable girl offenders assigned for supervision. The Junior Liaison Officer is concerned with the positive rather than the negative aspects of crime prevention: with the promotion of healthy youthful activity, particularly club activities, and of better relations between the erring juvenile and his family, and the enthusiastic Junior Liaison Officer team are already endeavouring to set up a summer camp to which deprived children assigned to their care can be invited for a holiday.
For a considerable time past individual Gardaí have voluntarily been contributing their efforts to youth club work and now the Force as a whole is actively engaged in promoting and strengthening the boys' club movement. I feel sure that this work will not only be a valuable social contribution and a means of reducing the incidence of delinquent behaviour but will also assist in the promotion of cordial relations between the Gardaí and the members of the public. Good public relations are, of course, essential to the success of all Garda work.
Once again, I cannot finish on this subject without a special word of thanks to those many voluntary social workers who do so much to assist the direct efforts of the State—the courts, police probation and prison staffs in fulfilling the ends of justice: to the Legion of Mary and the Salvation Army, to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, especially the Guild of St. Philip, to the Discharged Prisoners' Aid Society, the Irish Red Cross Society, the St. Patrick's Welfare Association and most particularly the Prison Visiting Committees for all they have done and are doing to help in the rehabilitation of the offender. To this work of true citizenship I am very glad to pay tribute.
The next Estimate is that for the courts. The increase of £27,340 shown in the Estimate Volume arises for the most part from changes in accounting procedures: there is no substantial change in actual expenditure.
It is appropriate to mention in connection with this Estimate that the Commission appointed to inquire into court practice and procedure reported during the year on the procedure for the preliminary investigation of indictable offences. The Government, having given long and careful consideration to the views and conclusions expressed in the majority report, have decided that it is possible to ensure greater administrative efficiency, considerable savings in public expenditure and in the time of witnesses and all concerned with preliminary hearings, while at the same time protecting fully the position of the accused by adopting the recommendation contained in the minority report for the abolition of the system of preliminary investigation altogether. Legislation to implement this decision is in course of preparation.
The next Estimate, that for the Land Registry and Registry of Deeds, shows an increase of £14,660 over the previous year. This is almost entirely due to the making of provision for increases of staff during the year. I am sure Deputies O'Higgins and Sweetman will be pleased with this.
