I am accompanied by: Mr. Seamus Clifford, an accountant with the Department; Ms Barbara Hesling, director of finance with the Irish Prison Service; and Mr. Michael Culhane, director of finance with the Garda Síochána.
I thank the select committee for making time available to consider the request of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform for a technical Supplementary Estimate for the justice Vote group. It is a technical measure only. No additional money is being sought for the justice Vote group, a key point of which I want to ensure the select committee is aware.
On behalf of the Minister, I am seeking the select committee's approval for a Supplementary Estimate of €1,000 in respect of each of the justice, Garda and courts Votes. This will allow for additional expenditure in some areas of the Votes to be offset by savings and surplus receipts from appropriations-in-aid. It is also proposed that the balance of the surplus receipts in each of these three Votes, in addition to delivering sizeable savings to the Exchequer at year end, will be utilised to transfer required additional funding of €12 million to the prisons Vote.
No additional funding is being sought from the Exchequer for the justice and equality sector in 2008. In effect, therefore, this technical Supplementary Estimate is as it states — a technical end-of-year financial accounting process which utilises economies under several subheads and surplus appropriations-in-aid to realign profiled expenditure to that which has accrued across the sector.
The select committee will appreciate that inevitably, given the wide expanse and nature of expenditure programmes encompassed by the justice group, circumstances will arise that impact negatively on planned expenditure outlays. Underpinned by robust budget management and accountability arrangements, the approach to fiscal governance in the justice and equality area is to manage the five Votes within the sector on a group basis. This enables the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, with the agreement of the Minister for Finance, to make adjustments within and across Votes as required. Such budgetary flexibility allows for timely and targeted reprioritisation of expenditure and redirection of resources to areas of greatest need. In particular, this ensures the needs of front line services and core functions are fully met.
The select committee will be aware of the initial remedial action taken by the Government some months ago in response to the deterioration in the public finances. Across the full public service spectrum, Departments and agencies were requested to effect considerable savings. In respect of the justice and equality sector, this figure amounted to €8.73 million. Not alone will the savings required by the Government in the current year be met in full but a substantial additional contribution of €3 million from across the Vote group will also be made, bringing to €11.73 million the total net yield to the Exchequer at year end.
Given that the prisons Vote is the most significant item within the Supplementary Estimates, in terms of a requirement for additional funding, I will address that area first. The Minister proposes to transfer €12 million in surplus receipts gathered in the justice, Garda and courts Votes to meet essential additional expenditure in the prisons area. The challenges faced by the Irish Prison Service are well documented. An aging prison infrastructure, ongoing prison security challenges and a rapidly increasing prisoner population all converge to exert particular pressures on the operational and administrative management of the prison system. Such challenges feature in prison systems globally and dealing comprehensively with these important issues remains a top priority for the Minister. The select committee will be familiar, in particular, with the intensive and targeted series of measures being taken to replace and modernise the prison infrastructure and strengthen prison security.
Significant investment has been made this year in combating the smuggling of contraband into prisons and thwarting the efforts of criminals who attempt to continue their enterprises from within the prison system. The considerable progress made in implementing a new and much enhanced prison security regime has necessitated additional expenditure. Consequently, an additional €15.044 million is required under the current expenditure category of subhead B — buildings and equipment. This incorporates security measures such as the introduction of airport style screening for all persons entering our closed prisons, high-tech search equipment, sniffer dogs and mobile phone blocking technology.
On the capital projects side, also under subhead B, a further €1.77 million is needed to ensure the prison buildings programme proceeds apace. During the course of 2008 over 110 new prison spaces came on stream with the completion of works at Loughan House, Shelton Abbey and Castlerea. Other major building projects at Portlaoise, Wheatfield and Castlerea are nearing completion. These, in addition to developments completed this year, will augment the capacity of the prison system by over 450 prison spaces once operational next year.
Additional expenditure under subhead A3 — incidental expenses — of €7.575 million and subhead C — prison services — of €7.372 million reflects the impact of a marked increase in the average daily prison population experienced this year, largely as a result of increased prison committals. Recruitment of additional prison officers, staff training, medical and other services for prisoners and increased utility and food costs, in the main, account for the extra expenditure.
I can report that savings of €20.297 million on other subheads will offset some of the additional requirement on the prisons Vote. The largest single contribution arises under subhead A1 — salaries, wages and allowances — where a saving of €14.735 million is expected because far-reaching organisational efficiencies introduced in recent years continue to deliver economies within the prison system. Additional costs incurred on the Garda, justice and courts Votes, as I said, will be offset by savings and surplus appropriations-in-aid within these Votes.
On the Garda Vote, the inherently difficult and complex nature of crime prevention and investigation often brings pressures to bear on the Garda organisation which, in turn, drive unpredictable and unplanned expenditure flows. Increased operational activities, in particular, associated with Operation Anvil, coupled with a Garda force now exceeding 14,200 gardaí, have given rise to an additional requirement of €14 million under subhead A2 — travel and subsistence. Similarly, under subhead A3 — incidental expenses — an additional €13.762 million has been incurred due to increases in demand-led expenses such as road traffic enforcement related doctor's fees and the cost of detaining persons in Garda custody. Expenditure on these items is a weather vane of general Garda operational activity. When there are high levels of operational policing — whether on Operation Anvil or road traffic enforcement — expenditure under these headings is always high.
Further provision is proposed under subheads A6 — maintenance of Garda stations — and A8 — station services — amounting to €11 million and €10.274 million, respectively, to cover expenditure on maintaining and refurbishing Garda premises and increased utility costs. On subheads B, D, F, H and I which are concerned with clothing and accessories, transport, aircraft, witnesses' expenses and compensation, an amount of €26.096 million is being reallocated to cover additional expenditure needs in these areas.
Savings will be realised across a number of subheads in the Garda Vote, the largest being subhead G — superannuation — under which a saving of €28 million arises due to fewer gardaí retiring than projected. Timing issues in relation to the roll-out of certain projects account for savings of €5.693 million and €14.761 million under subheads A4 — postal and telecommunications services — and E — communications and other equipment — respectively. On the appropriations-in-aid side, a surplus of €15.065 million is anticipated from increased pension contributions, receipts for non-public duties services provided for sports and other organisations and contributions from the banking sector for cash escorts. A surrender balance of €12.23 million is expected in the Garda Vote once additional expenditure is offset within the Vote. This will be used to offset in part the additional requirement in the prisons Vote and deliver savings to the Exchequer.
Turning to the justice, equality and law reform Vote, while an overall net saving of €2 million is anticipated, additional provisions are required under several subheads. These chiefly relate to demand driven areas such as subhead D4 — asylum seeker accommodation — and subhead C1 — criminal legal aid — in respect of which unavoidable additional costs in these areas alone will amount to almost €25 million. On subhead D1 — Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service — an additional cost of €10.087 million has been incurred. The expenditure reflects costs associated with judicial reviews, once-off decentralisation costs and the upgrading of INIS's IT infrastructure. Savings are, however, anticipated under a number of subheads. Timing issues in respect of projects in preparation or under way account principally for these savings, the largest of which arise in the youth justice, probation and pathology services. Savings in the equality and integration areas, as well as greater than expected immigration related receipts, also feature.
On the courts Vote, an appropriations-in-aid surplus of €10 million, generated by greater than anticipated court fees income arising from an increase mid-year in late night exemption charges, will fund a relatively small additional expenditure requirement within the Vote. The balance will be used to offset extra costs in the prisons Vote and deliver savings to the Exchequer. The additional requirements arise primarily under subhead A3 — incidental expenses — largely due to increased interpretation and stenography fees.
The Vote for the Property Registration Authority will show a small saving of €500,000 in the current year. This has arisen due to savings in IT expenditure, together with the scaling down of a publicity campaign and a reduction in expenditure on training and consultancy.
Prudent financial management across the justice sector, in line with the policy of managing the Votes on a group basis, has negated any need there might otherwise have been for additional Exchequer funding this year. Additionally, the net end of year yield to the Central Fund is clearly indicative of the preparedness and capacity of the sector to take decisive action as circumstances dictate. The changed economic environment poses serious challenges for the justice and equality sector, but I can assure the committee, on behalf of the Minister, that whatever the future budgetary position, safeguarding frontline services and core functions will remain a top priority.
As I said, the overall financial envelope for the five Votes is managed as a whole. The outcome this year is that the savings sought by the Government in July will be delivered and added to. Priority items will continue to be funded — tackling crime continues to be the major priority. No additional moneys are being sought for the justice sector financial envelope. Today's business is therefore more of a technical nature. On that note, I recommend the Supplementary Estimates to the select committee. I will be happy to discuss any questions raised. Members should feel free to rely on me or my officials to answer their questions.
