Justice Department defends Garda budgets

Department of Justice "welcomes" Policing Authority focus on Garda IT, but does not address staffing issues 

It is estimated that the Garda IT department will need additional investment of up to €45m, in order to tackle modern and "cyber related" crime. 

The Department of Justice said investment in Garda IT will remain a “key priority”, and that it “welcomes the focus” the Policing Authority has put on the issue.

An authority report published on Monday said a dedicated budget of €40m-€45m is needed to implement Garda IT modernisation projects.

It said this is “in addition” to the current budget, which is predominantly spent on maintenance costs of systems.

It said this extra budget is based on estimates from Garda HQ that it needs €200m capital investment to enable it to “catch up” with the digital capabilities of other police forces, and organised crime groups.

The authority said there are significant and, in some areas, “critical” staffing shortages.

The Government’s planned Garda strength of 15,000 gardaí and 4,000 staff “may warrant revisiting”, given changes in the policing environment and demands on policing, it said.

The report said “immediate action” is needed to address a three-year Garda backlog in examining digital devices.

In response, the Department of Justice said the budget provided to Garda Commissioner Drew Harris “continues to increase to unprecedented levels”, with an allocation of over €2bn for 2022.

“Since 2016 the budget for An Garda Síochána has increased by approximately €500m, or 33%,” it said in a statement.

“Very significant capital investment is also being made in An Garda Síochána, including the provision for capital budget of €147m for An Garda Síochána’s ICT and building programme.”

The department said: 

Improving the ICT capabilities of An Garda Síochána will remain a key priority for both the Government and the Garda Commissioner over the coming years, and the department welcomes the focus which the Policing Authority have placed on this area.

Staffing

The department did not respond to calls for revising planned staffing levels.

It said that as of July 31, there were 14,318 Garda members nationwide. 

“This represents a significant increase of almost 6% since end of December 2017 when there were 13,551 Garda members.”

It said 369 new Garda members have been attested in 2022 to date, and that there are 3,128 Garda civilian staff nationwide, representing “an increase of over 42%” since December 2017.

It said Mr Harris is responsible for managing the organisation, and allocating resources.

In a statement, Garda HQ said that, as stated in the authority’s report, it provided the authority “with its view of the additional investment required in ICT to support the prevention and detection of crime”.

On staffing, it said:

 “Commissioner Harris addressed [on Monday] how changing demographics and crime trends, particularly the rise in cyber-related crime, fraud, and international investigations, will require the need for additional gardaí and Garda staff beyond the planned 15,000 gardaí and 4,000 Garda staff target set six years ago.”

On the backlog, it said the organisation had invested in the Garda Cybercrime Bureau and local cyber hubs.