Justice: The Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform saw an increase in its Estimate of 5 per cent over 2004, writes Carol Coulter Legal Affairs Correspondent.
This includes €55.6 million more for the Garda Síochána, part of which will go to the recruitment of 1,100 additional members of the force, according to the Minister, and brings total expenditure on the force to €1.1 billion.
The Legal Aid Board is another beneficiary of additional resources, with an increase of 16 per cent in its budget. The additional €3 million will go towards the reduction of waiting lists for free legal aid, which have been running at over a year in some centres. It will also facilitate the extension of the private practitioner scheme to the Circuit Court.
Extra resources have also been allocated to childcare. The amount available for 2005 is €73.4 million, up €5.2 million on last year. The Minister told journalists he is also in discussion with the Department of Finance in relation to increased capital expenditure on childcare, to allow for grants for the construction of creches, both privately owned and those operated by voluntary groups.
The Prison Service, which saw a cut in its funding last year of €30 million as part of the reduction in spending on prison officers' overtime, has had its allocation increased by €21.9 million.
There will be an 18 per cent increase in expenditure on salaries, wages and allowances in the Prison Service this year. This will include benchmarking, which has not yet been paid, payment of an arbitrator's award and payment for the annualised hours regime which has yet to be accepted by prison officers.
Mr McDowell pointed out that the allocations for travel and expenses, and for incidental expenses, have been reduced by 18 and 16 per cent respectively.
The Probation and Welfare Service has had its allocation increased by €5.6 million, or 9 per cent. This will enable additional staff to be recruited to implement the Children Act, and to initiate pilot projects in a number of areas specified by the Childcare Act. Its allocation was cut last year.
There is provision for the Commission of Inquiry into clerical sex abuse in the Dublin diocese, which will be set up early in the new year, according to the Minister. Money will be made available for the Garda Ombudsman Commission when the Garda Bill has been enacted, he said.
Bodies representing the disabled, the Equality Tribunal and measures aimed at combating violence against women all saw modest increases in their allocation. The budget for asylum and immigration also increased.
The Equality Authority will see a net decrease in its budget, with only a 1 per cent increase, below the rate of inflation. This is the second year running that its allocation has been cut.
Losers in the 2005 Justice Estimates include the administration of the Department, which will cost 12 per cent less next year, and the European Refugees' Fund, which lost 13 per cent.