There is no additional funding requirement arising in respect of the Supplementary Estimates of €10 million. It is required for the Garda Vote and has been offset by savings from elsewhere in the Vote group. In effect, the Supplementary Estimates are a technical accounting exercise to offset overruns in a number of subheads against savings in other subheads before the end of the financial year. Notwithstanding the additional Garda requirement, the Vote group is expected to surrender at least €22 million to the Exchequer at the end of the year. This arises in the main part from greater than projected receipts and prudent management of expenditure across all areas of the Department, its offices and agencies.
The additional requirement of €10 million in respect of the Garda Vote arises across a range of subheads, and will allow the Garda Commissioner additional scope in meeting essential costs in key areas of the fight against organised and other serious crime.
While there is a shortfall of €40 million in Garda pay and allowances, it is more than offset by a corresponding saving in Garda superannuation. Members will recollect that there was a very high number of retirements in 2009. This has not been repeated to the same extent in 2010 and as a result, the Supplementary Estimate is rebalancing the allocation between the pay and the superannuation subheads. It is projected that there will be around 14,400 serving members at the end of 2010. Currently, there are approximately 1,300 Garda members in the category who are eligible to retire, namely, those members who have reached the age of 50 and have 30 years service. While this factor, combined with the moratorium on recruitment, will inevitably mean a reduction in the strength of the force in the short term, the significant increases in Garda numbers in recent years means that the force is in a good position to absorb the impact of the moratorium on recruitment.
The postal and telecommunications subhead is also showing an excess against the budget of over €14 million. This is directly linked to the service charges and implementation costs for the national digital radio service, which was put in place by the Department of Finance on behalf of the Garda Síochána and other "blue light" service providers. In addition, a significant upgrade of the entire Garda wide area network is currently nearing completion. This is the primary network which serves a number of key Garda systems such as PULSE and the GNIB information systems.
Subhead D, which deals with transport, is also showing an excess of €14.6 million. This is largely due to the fuel and running costs of a Garda fleet of almost 2,800 vehicles. I am pleased to say that the appropriate sanction has been received recently to purchase in the region of 150 replacement Garda cars which will be utilised throughout the country.
Additional expenditure has been incurred in a number of other subheads such as station services, €6.56 million, travel and subsistence, €1.2 million, and subhead I, which deals with compensation and comes to €1.258 million. There is also an additional requirement in subhead A5, which deals with ICT, of €3.375 million, and this relates in part to the continued investment in new and existing technology to ensure that gardaí are resourced to the greatest extent possible in the investigation and detection of serious crime.
In order to offset these additional requirements, savings will be realised across a number of subheads in the Garda Vote. I have referred previously to the savings in superannuation being available to offset the overrun in Garda pay. In addition, there are savings in subhead E of €6.297 million due to the need to prioritise expenditure in other areas. The appropriations-in-aid subhead is showing surplus receipts of €21.625 million, mainly as a result of a greater than anticipated intake in pension related deductions and in fees received for renewal and purchase of firearm licences. The licensing process changed in this regard in 2010, as licences are now renewed every three years rather than annually as heretofore.
Before leaving the Garda Vote, I would like to draw attention to the fact that Mr. Fachtna Murphy, the current Garda Commissioner, will be retiring at the end of December, after a long and distinguished career. On my own behalf and on behalf of the Government, I would like to acknowledge the substantial contribution of the Commissioner to policing over the years and to extend every best wish to him on his retirement.
While an overall net saving of €14 million is anticipated in the Justice and Law Reform Vote, additional provisions are required under a number of subheads. These chiefly relate to subhead C1, dealing with criminal legal aid which, while showing a reduction on 2009 expenditure levels, still requires additional funding of €7.5 million. For subhead D1, dealing with the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service, an additional €12.3 million has been incurred. As with the criminal legal aid subhead, various measures have been taken to reduce expenditure in this area, but one of the main drivers behind additional expenditure relates to the costs of judicial reviews arising from legal challenges around cases where decisions on the right to remain in the State are contested by asylum seekers.
There are smaller overruns reflected in the Department's administrative subheads, especially subhead A5, which deals with information technology, due to the fact that the Department has centralised its IT support for a large number of offices and agencies under its remit, including overseas visa offices. Subhead A3, incidental expenses, has an additional requirement of €1.8 million, which is accounted for the most part by legal costs as a result of court decisions.
In order to offset those subheads that are demand-led and are incurring overruns, it has been necessary to reallocate savings under a number of subheads. Savings of €5.5 million arise regarding subhead B1, commissions and special inquiries, primarily due to the delay in the finalisation of third party legal costs. Programme expenditure in subheads such as E5, Cosc, and H3, probation services, are also contributing savings to meet the additional requirements due to changes in funding structures and the need to achieve increased efficiencies and value for money. There also are savings in G3, Criminal Assets Bureau, of €1 million and G13, Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission, of €1.2 million, due to reduced administration costs, particularly regarding the provision for legal costs.
There also are surplus receipts of €11.753 million, primarily arising in the INIS area from a combination of visa, immigration and citizenship fees. Additional receipts in respect of pension-related deductions have also contributed to this surplus.
On the courts Vote, an appropriations-in-aid surplus of almost €4 million, generated by greater than anticipated court fee income and pension-related deductions, together with savings in other subheads, will fund additional requirements in other areas. The remaining balances will be returned to the Exchequer at the end of the year. The largest areas of additional expenditure relate to subhead B1, courthouse capital, subhead A5, ICT expenditure, and subhead A3, incidental expenses, with amounts of €3.608 million, €2.758 million and €1.837 million, respectively. The additional requirement in respect of courthouse capital arises primarily because refurbishment work on Kilkenny and Monaghan courthouses finished ahead of schedule. This requirement effectively has been offset by a saving of more than €3 million in the provision set aside for a once-off VAT payment to the Revenue Commissioners in respect of the Criminal Courts of Justice complex. The additional ICT expenditure relates for the most part to the further deployment of digital audio recording, DAR, to all remaining District Court and Circuit Court locations.
Finally, the remaining Votes in the group, for the Prison Service and the Property Registration Authority, PRA, have shown combined savings of almost €13 million in the current year. In the case of the PRA, the saving of €2.85 million is mainly in payroll due to a reduction in staff numbers and the non-filling of the resultant vacancies. The savings on the prison Vote are expected to be in the region of €10 million. The main area giving rise to savings is the salaries subhead, due to the relatively large number of retirements and the impact of the moratorium on recruitment. Nevertheless, I should point out that there has been some recruitment in the Prison Service in the current year comprising 154 recruit prison officers and seven nurse officers, and due to the demands on the Prison Service I am keeping this area under constant review. Despite a decrease of almost 6% in the current expenditure allocation for the justice group in 2010 compared with the outturn for 2009, I am pleased to report that it will be possible to balance the books and return a surrender balance to the Exchequer of at least €22 million. While it is clear there are many challenges facing the sector, prudent budget management means that resources continue to be directed towards priority areas within the criminal justice system.
Although the focus of today's proceedings is very much on the current financial year, all members will be aware of the considerable fiscal challenges which continue to face us over the next four years. Clearly, the justice sector is no different to any other area of the public sector and while it has contributed significant savings in the last two years, it must generate further savings over the next four years, as published in last week's national recovery plan. While a breakdown of some of the areas affected was outlined in the plan, there is more work to be done on identifying areas from which savings can be derived.
However, I assure the committee that front line services will continue to be prioritised to ensure the safety and protection of citizens throughout the State. There has been very significant investment in the justice sector in recent years both in respect of increased Garda numbers and investment in physical infrastructure in the form of courthouses, prisons and Garda stations, as well as the development of leading-edge information technology systems across the five Votes in the group. Therefore, much has been done within the sector with the resources available in the recent past and much can still be done in the future, despite the reduced financial resources. The Department's capital budget will continue to provide for the provision of essential prison places, including the development of Thornton Hall on a phased basis, together with the development and maintenance of key Garda ICT systems. The justice sector will continue to prioritise the resources available in key front line areas to maintain the protection and safety of citizens against the scourge of serious crime. I recommend this Supplementary Estimate to the committee.