This is the second occasion on which I have presented the Estimates for the Justice group of Votes, that is Votes 19 to 24, for consideration by this committee. The sum involved — nearly £558 million — is a reflection of the Government's continued commitment to the fight against crime and the reform of the criminal justice system.
Before I address the details of the Estimates, I wish to make some comments about crime. We are all of course concerned at the level and type of crime in Ireland today. The recent horrific and senseless murders in the Clare and Galway areas have heightened our awareness even further. In particular, they raise the spectre that the more violent criminal trends, which unfortunately are often a normal part of daily life in other societies in the world, might become a normal part of criminal activity in this country.
There are of course considerations which ought to be mentioned by way of setting things in context and avoiding undue anxiety. First, the crime situation in Ireland is no worse than many of our European counterparts and in fact is far better than most. Second, Ireland has the opportunity to learn, and is in fact learning, from trends which have already developed in other countries, how to combat certain types of crime and to ensure that our society is kept as safe as possible. Third, and importantly, the Irish community is, I believe, one of the most informed and conscious societies in the developed world and is extremely aware that they also have a role to play in crime prevention in addition to the response of the law enforcement agencies. This awareness is complemented by the increasing involvement in recent years by the Garda with the communities which they serve — a topic to which I will refer again later.
However, we need to say a little more in order to allay the concerns which emerged following the recent murders to which I have referred. The atmosphere which these appalling and tragic events have generated goes beyond the very natural feeling of grief for the victims and those left behind — there is generated also a sense that there is now a new norm in Irish life and that events like those I have mentioned may be visited on any of our neighbourhoods at any time.
I believe that, as public representatives, we have a responsibility to say that the circumstances which surround these particular and individual events do not signify the emergence of a new norm. All of us have been distressed and saddened by what has happened, but it runs way beyond the bounds of reason to cite these events as examples of a fundamental change in the standards of behaviour and treatment which the people of this country may expect from their fellow citizens.
It is no longer possible to give a strict definition of what constitutes "crime" as the issue has broadened significantly in line with those developments which are intrinsically related to modern society and which have affected the way we work, live and play. Fraud, for instance, is an example of a modern day crime and both the Government's and the Garda Síochána's response to this issue have adapted in line with these developments.
Since becoming Minister for Justice I have become aware of just how many aspects there are to the topic of crime. This awareness has, I believe, allowed me to consider in a more focused way that is a suitable response to dealing with the issue of crime and the fact that this response must reflect its current complexity. For this reason, the measures contained in the law and order package which I published last December, and which represent a significant initiative and investment by the Government, reflect the fact that crime in modern day society is a multi-faceted issue and that the response to the problem must be a considered and comprehensive one. I am confident this package reflects these aspects and will have long lasting and significant benefits for the public.
The drugs situation remains one of my highest priorities. We are all aware of the horrific effects of drug misuse and addiction. In so far as law enforcement is concerned, the Garda are having regular successes in detecting and prosecuting drug offences. We read about these cases frequently in the media. The Criminal Justice (No. 3) Bill, 1993, will be enacted, hopefully, very shortly. It will enable the proceeds of serious crime, including drug trafficking, to be confiscated. I am confident these new powers will prove most effective in tackling the main players in organised crime, including the "drug barons".
I turn now to the individual Votes. A sum of £19.114 milion is provided in the Vote for the Office of the Minister for Justice and for certain other services including the Data Protection Commissioner, the Garda Complaints Board and the Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal. The figure provided represents a 3 per cent increase on the 1993 provisional outturn. The additional funding is mainly to provide for increased costs due to additional duties and responsibilities which my Department has arising from the Maastricht Treaty and for increased salary costs. I have also provided a sum of £110,000 for the Irish Association for Victim Support — a voluntary organisation whose aims and objectives I support and whose sterling work with the victims of crime I greatly admire.
The provision in this year's Estimate for the Garda Vote is £393.936 million. This represents an increase of over £22 million, or almost 6 per cent on last year's initial allocation. A substantial part of this increased funding will be spent on a number of special initiatives in the Garda area, which I am taking in order to prevent and detect crime more effectively.
The Government is committed to giving the Garda, the courts and the prison service the necessary resources to tackle crime in all its forms. The package of law and order measures to be implemented in the years 1994 to 1997 has an overall cost of £66 million. The measures in the package are essential to confront the criminals in our society who prey on law abiding people.
On the Garda Síochána side, the main measures included in the package include the acceleration of the existing recruitment campaign by the recruitment of 407 additional Garda trainees this year. This involves bringing forward by one year the four year recruitment campaign originally begun in 1992 and due to end in 1995. This year the number of gardaí recruited will be double what it would otherwise have been. During the period 1995 to 1997, 1,050 gardaí will be recruited to maintain the force at its current optimum level. This will mean an annual intake of 350 a year in each of those years. This recruitment process has already begun. A commitment has been made to the ongoing process of civilianisation in the Garda Síochána. A further 200 civilians will be recruited at the rate of 50 a year for each of the years 1994 to 1997. This is a key strategy to get gardaí away from desks and out onto the streets of our cities and towns for operational duties, the duties for which they were recruited and trained. I am also in the process of beginning the recruitment of civilians to slot in at management level in the force to fill senior positions. A modern police force must be mobile and able to depend on its transport. My plan approaches the whole question of fleet management in a structured way and it ensures that the Garda will have the vehicles they need for all the varied aspects of their work.
Closed circuit television monitoring is becoming more prevalent in society today. We are all used to seeing the cameras in shops, petrol filling stations and banks. We also see the benefits of this technology as an aid to policing in programmes such as the "Crimeline" TV series. Closed circuit television is extremely successful in identifying criminals and it has a huge deterrent effect. My plan provides for the installation, on a pilot basis, of closed circuit television technology in two areas of Dublin — the city centre and the Temple Bar area. When we have evaluated its effectiveness, we will consider the extension of this initiative to other areas.
I also will be implementing certain proposals of the advisory committee on fraud in relation to staffing structures in the Garda fraud squad. The legal changes recommended by the committee are being worked on in my Department at present and I hope to publish a Bill updating our antiquated laws on dishonesty later this year.
I believe that preventing crime is better than solving it. For this reason funding has been provided in this year's Garda Estimates for the enhancement of crime prevention initiatives. My Department has been to the forefront in recent years in funding community based projects which have as their aim the diversion of young people at risk of sliding into a life of crime, vandalism and lawlessness away from anti-social behaviour and petty crime. This follows on from the conclusions in the 1992 report of the Inter-Departmental Committee on Urban Crime and Disorder.
My plan provides funding for the continuation of those initiatives which are channelled through the Garda to underscore the fact that the Garda are part of the communities in which they serve. These projects can be highly cost effective. I am happy with the success of the projects which were undertaken on a pilot basis in two areas of Dublin, in Ronanstown in north Clondalkin and Killinarden in Tallaght. This year I have included provision for the funding of further community based schemes in Knocknaheeny/Hollyhill in Cork and Moyross in Limerick. The extension of these youth diversion projects to other areas is also under consideration.
The present strength of the Garda Síochána is 10,892. In addition, the employment of almost 700 civilians to perform clerical duties has led to the release of gardaí to perform the outdoor operational duties for which they were specially selected and trained. The operational strength of the force is now at its highest level ever. The Government is committed to maintaining the strength of the Garda Síochána at this level and are taking the necessary steps to ensure this.
The Garda Estimate 1994 includes the provision of £2.4 million for the implementation of the Garda information technology plan. It will make a very substantial contribution to the effectiveness of the Garda Síochána. For example, the plan will enable information, once collected, to be used for several different purposes and for time-consuming manual procedures to be automated, thus enabling the gardaí to spend less time on paper-work and more on important outdoor police work. Crime detection rates will be increased through improved co-ordination of information and through the provision of computerised fingerprint identification facilities. Improved management information will enable more effective use to be made of Garda resources and a more effective response to be provided to the public.
Total once-off expenditure on the IT plan will be in the region of £26 million. The £2.4 million included in this year's Estimate will be spent on the computer capital, staffing and consultancy areas and the sum is in addition to the normal provision of approximately £1.2 million for Garda computerisation, including maintenance.
Turning to the Prisons Vote, the Estimates provide for significant increases for prison staff and accommodation and also for probation and welfare service staff and community facilities. These are aimed in a strategic way at enabling both services to respond to the urgent demands being placed upon them. In all, a total of £108.6 million has been provided in the Estimates, of which £10.9 million is for the probation and welfare service. This compares with last year's provisional outturn of £96.3 million, of which £8.8 million was for the probation and welfare service.
The single biggest area of expenditure on the Prisons Vote is salaries, wages and allowances for prison staff. These account for £70.9 million in the Estimates for 1994, compared with last year's provisional outturn of £66.4 million. The increase is for 204 additional staff, as well as for the effect of increases under the Programme for Economic and Social Progress and increments.
The extra prison staff are being provided for the health care unit at Mountjoy Prison and to reduce the extent of overtime working which has been at an unsustainably high level of recent years. Last year's overtime expenditure came to £14.2 million, or 21 per cent of the pay bill. This situation, or course, reflects the expanding workload of the prison system arising by way of increasing numbers of prisoners, the operation of new accommodation and associated workload increases. Unlike other services, much of the work arising in prisons has to be done as it arises, and often the most effective and economical way to meet it is by overtime working. However, there is scope for identifying recurrent demands which could be met with additional staff. The recruitment programme which is provided for includes a step in that direction and will, in fact, re-establish the relative balance between pay and overtime which existed a few years ago.
There is a provision of £15.1 million for buildings and equipment under subhead B. This represents an increase of £4.5 million on the provision in 1993 and the increase is almost exclusively in respect of costs to be incurred this year in providing new prison accommodation. As Deputies will be aware, the provision of 210 additional prison places is an integral part of the comprehensive law and order package approved by the Government. Sixty of the additional places will be in a new purpose-designed prison facility for women offenders and the remaining 150 places, for male offenders, will be provided at Castlerea, County Roscommon.
A high priority is being accorded to the planning and construction of these two prison facilities. Planning work is well advanced in both cases and the construction of the prison perimeter wall and associated works for Castlerea prison has already commenced. It is my intention that the two new institutions will be completed and come into use as quickly as possible.
Side by side with the provision of extra places, it is my policy to develop further community-based sanctions for appropriate offenders. I am committed to finding the right balance between custodial and community sanctions. The law and order package involves the recruitment of an additional 50 probation and welfare officers and support staff over the next four years for that purpose and we have provided £0.5 million in 1994 for the first phase of this recruitment.
I have also obtained approval to fill 20 existing vacancies in the probation service this year. Thirteen of these staff will be assigned to the intensive supervision scheme. This is where young serious offenders are referred by the court as an alternative to custody or from prison at an early stage of sentence. Offenders are intensively supervised and are challenged to confront their offending behaviour — not just its causes but also its consequences on themselves, their families and their victims. I am satisfied that this programme is doing an effective job for us in reducing repeat offending among serious offenders. Over 100 offenders are currently participating in the scheme and this will be substantially increased to closer to 200 when the extra 13 staff are recruited. The response rate to the scheme measured by the numbers who remain out of crime and by the attendance and level of commitment to the programme, is approximately 75 per cent. The total of 70 extra staff for the probation and welfare service will represent an increase of over 40 per cent in the strength of the service by 1997.
Finally, in relation to this Vote I will shortly be publishing a comprehensive policy document/five-year plan for the management of offenders. The developments I have outlined above are a critical element of the strategy I will be adopting.
I move now to the Courts Vote. It goes without saying that the courts play a vital role in the administration of justice and I have broad responsibility for providing the services necessary to enable the courts to function efficiently and effectively. The Courts Vote provides the funding necessary to equip the courts to carry out their role.
The Vote covers the usual costs such as salaries, office equipment, accommodation and telecommunications. The estimated net cost of the courts system in 1994, taking into account the gross current expenditure and revenue accruing to the State through fines etc., is approximately £20.5 million.
The efficiency of all aspects of the courts is of great concern to me. I have already obtained Government approval for the appointment of three additional judges — one to the High Court, one to the Circuit Court and one to the District Court — to address delays in the hearing of criminal cases. With regard to the hearing of family law cases, I have read with interest the Law Reform Commission consultation paper on this matter and as soon as I receive their final report it will receive my immediate attention.
I am also actively addressing the problem of court accommodation. I am glad that this year I have secured an increase in the allocation for expenditure on court accommodation with £4.25 million being provided for capital works and a new allocation of £1 million being made available for maintenance projects in provincial courts. I will continue to take whatever measures are necessary within the resources available to me to maintain and improve the services provided by the court system.
A sum of £12.073 million being provided in the Vote for the Land Registry and Registry of Deeds represents an 8 per cent increase in the 1993 provisional outturn. The additional funds provided are mainly to cover salary and other costs associated with the operation of the registries.
The committee will be aware of the Government's decision to reconstitute the Land Registry and Registry of Deeds as a commercial semi-State body. The interim board to the registries, which was appointed in July 1992, is continuing its deliberations. Progress is being made in regard to the necessary administrative and legislative steps necessary to convert the registries to semi-State status.
The Government decided in November 1992 that part of the operations of the Land Registry is to be transferred to Waterford city. Arising from this decision, I established a study group in July 1993 to examine the problems arising from decentralisation and to make recommendations as to how the Government decision is to be implemented with minimum disruption to the operation of the Land Registry. Arising from the study group's recommendations, I have decided which areas of Land Registry work should be transferred to Waterford. The transfer of the work in question will involve in the region of 150 staff. A circular issued on 20 May 1994 throughout the Civil Service canvassing staff in other Departments who would be interested in transferring to Waterford. It is envisaged that the move to Waterford will take place in 1996.
Finally, a sum of £203,000 has been provided to cover the costs of running the Office of the Commissioners of Charitable Donations and Bequests.
In the time available I have tried to explain how the resources are being addressed so as to obtain the maximum value from the funds available to my Department. I look forward to hearing the contributions Deputies may wish to make and I will try to answer the questions which may arise.
