€10M..OR BUS
Department faces demands for new Garda uniforms and prison vehicles
NEW prison vehicles and a €10million uniform project for gardai were on the Department of Justice’s pre-budget wish-list.
Funding of up to €13million for Garda PPE and a €1.3million boost for equipment including “certain covert devices in the fight against serious crime” were also sought by the department.
Details are contained in a pre-budget submission from the department, which also reveals how one high-profile State agency received significantly less in funding than what they had requested.
The Data Protection Commissioner received more than half of the €4.16million it sought to bulk up staff.
It was the second year in a row the DPC allocation fell short.
Last year they were granted just €1.6million of an extra €5.9million requested. Records include detail on individual spending items including €1.2million for fleet investment in the Irish Prison Service. More than a quarter of vehicles were more than 10 years old, with some approaching half a million kilometres on their odometers. The submission said: “The monthly maintenance costs run at circa €40k and this is due to ongoing corrosion issues in the older fleet.” The department also said they would need a significant boost to “aggressively clear” backlogs in the asylum process. They said about 50 new staff would be needed in the International Protection Of f ice, seven full- time members for the asylum appeals tribunal, and a new unit to deal with regularisation of citizenship. Another €15.5million would be needed for an inquiry into the Stardust fire. The department also said extra funds would be needed for review hearings for people detained at the soon-to-be-completed Central Mental Hospital.
They said with 43 extra beds, that would lead to more than 70 new hearings every year costing €80,000.
A major funding increase for Forensic Science Ireland was also needed.
Drug submissions had increased by 23% in 2020 while the service had no room for extra staff to supplement the workforce.
The submission said: “It is proposed to secure additional temporary accommodation for an 18-24 month period.
“This would allow FSI to continue to address some of the imbalance in capacity and demand that exists today and is growing.”
The Prisons Inspectorate needed a funding boost as well to allow for each prison to be inspected every five years.
For the Courts Service, an extra €2million was sought for security staff to maintain Covid-19 measures.
A further €2.5million was requested to cover jury trials at alternative venues including Croke Park.
The same amount was sought to address some of the “more urgent defects and health and safety matters” identified in ageing court buildings.
A spokesman for the department said requests were submitted on the unde r s t a n d i ng of “the availability of finite financial resources”.
He added: “This was particularly so in a year when Covid-19 required significant investment of public service finances in frontline services as government responded to the pandemic.”
A spokesman for the Data Protection Commissioner welcomed the increased funding made available in the budget.
The monthly maintenance costs run at circa €40k... this is due to corrosion... SUBMISSION ON COSTS TO RUN PRISON VANS