€24m more for garda overtime

THE garda overtime budget will jump by almost 40% to €83.5 million next year, according to the Estimates published yesterday.

Justice Minister Michael McDowell said this will allow for 2.7 million extra manhours of policing by uniformed officers and specialist crime units.

He said the Estimates provide for a significant increase in funding for juvenile diversion programmes, garda patrols and a garda voluntary reserve.

He announced several initiatives, including:

* A €1m budget for an anti-graffiti and anti-vandalism campaign.

* A €5m special integration initiative, including citizenship programmes, for foreign nationals coming into the country.

The Estimates set aside €10m for the new Garda Ombudsman and €1.9m for the Garda Inspectorate.

The overall justice budget of €2.29bn, a rise of 7.5%, covers a wide range of functions including the gardaí, the prisons, the court service and the immigration service.

Mr McDowell said the increased funding of €146m to the gardaí, giving it a total budget of €1.25bn, was its biggest ever increase.

He said this would allow for the recruitment of 2,000 extra officers. He said there would be 14,000 gardaí either on the street or in training by the end of 2006.

The minister said €5m of the €83.5m overtime budget would be set aside for an extension of Operation Encounter, targeting public order.

Up to 300 desk-bound gardaí are to be freed up for frontline duties by getting civil servants to do the work.

Other main provisions of the estimates include:

* An extra €8.2m to commissions of inquiry, bringing the total budget to €19m.

* A further €4m on legal aid, creating a total fund of €63.7m.

* An additional €14m on asylum, resulting in a total vote of €140m.

* Some €19m more on equality issues, creating a budget of €121m.

Mr McDowell said an extra €1.2m was being given to the Garda Youth Diversion Programme and an additional €1.5m to juvenile offending initiatives run by the Probation Service (a rise of 328%).

He said e1m was being set aside for the Garda Voluntary Reserve and that there was a target intake of 900 members next year.

An additional €3.8m is going towards the purchase of new garda vehicles and an extra €2.6m to a digital garda radio system.

Fine Gael justice spokesman Jim O’Keeffe said that despite Mr McDowell’s claims, only 12,920 gardaí will be on the street by the end of 2006.

He accused the minister of misleading the Dáil and claimed he could not be trusted.

Labour Party justice spokesman Joe Costello said the Government had now “formally abandoned” its pledge to have 2,000 extra gardaí in place within its lifetime.

He said the 11% increase in garda salaries and allowances would only allow for a small rise in garda numbers next year.