Garda ranks to swell by 1,100 to help fight on crime

THERE will be an extra 1,100 gardaí on the streets next year, helped by a 10% rise in the force’s budget.

The €181 million rise in funding will also provide 1,200 new garda cars and vans and the leasing of a new digital radio system, Tánaiste and Justice Minister Michael McDowell said.

He was adamant that more garda numbers with the extra funds would help battle crime.

“The additional overtime allocation will yield almost three million extra man hours of policing by uniformed and special units throughout the State.”

Under plans to increase the force to 14,000, spending on gardaí will rise €135m to €1.445bn. This will help see an extra 1,100 gardaí graduate next year.

Spending for prison building is up €14m. This will include sums for ground works on Thornton Hall, the planned superprison in north Dublin.

Funds will also be allocated to increase the Garda Traffic Corp by 200, bringing it to more than 1,000, and for three million extra overtime hours.

Prison buildings and youth services were other big winners in the €2.4 billion allocation.

Over €17.5m extra is to be spent on the courts, with work on a new criminal court complex in Islandbridge to begin next year.

The amount spent on prisons is also to increase by 13% to over €38.8m.

This will be spent on 313 additional prison places in Portlaoise, Castlereagh, Loughan House and Sheldon Abbey as well as Thornton Hall.

Over €16m will be spent on a Youth Justice Service, which will provide youth justice programmes and mentoring programmes. The estimates also provide for the expansion of garda youth diversion schemes, extending them to 100 by the end of next year.

The funds for garda communications, including equipment like CCTV, will rise €5.2m.

Pathology services will see an increase of €3m, which will help fund a new forensic science laboratory, accommodating the planned state DNA database.

Several justice portfolios saw spending levelled off or decreased. Those hit included asylum and immigration services (down €4m), as well as funding for victims of crime (down €500,000).

Mr McDowell also announced the upgrading of garda stations, as well as targeting areas where communities experience vandalism, intimidation and forms of antisocial behaviour.

“Among other things, these provisions will enhance the capacity of An Garda Síochána to pre-empt the activities of those who may be involved in terrorism — both national and international — and organised crime.”

Garda chiefs were directed how to spend next year’s money under headings such as tackling organised crime, public safety/confidence, road safety as well as illegal immigration/trafficking.

But opposition TDs contended the record spending would fail to win the battle against crime.

Fine Gael justice spokesman Jim O’Keeffe this week claimed garda numbers had actually fallen from 12,762 to 12,707.

Labour TD Brendan Howlin argued a10% rise in garda spending was insufficient and only enough for “student gardaí still undergoing training”.