JUSTICE: The Garda Síochána and the Prison Service are the big winners in the Department of Justice's allocation in the Budget, with increases of 11 per cent. The overall increase in the department's allocation is 10 per cent, bringing it to almost €2.7 billion.
The budget for the Garda Síochána now stands at €1.616 billion, and the increase of 11 per cent includes provision for a total of 14,200 members of the force on the streets by the end of 2008, with a further 800 in training bringing the total to 15,000.
The civilianisation programme will be stepped up, with 300 civilians in Garda posts outside Dublin, and the recruitment of 28 civilian crime analysts.
The technology available to the force with be enhanced, with a new state-of-the-art digital radio system, an automatic number plate recognition system and continued expansion of the CCTV programme.
This will involve a total technology budget of €102 million, up from €74 million last year.
Emphasising the importance of this additional expenditure, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform said that the fight against crime was a top priority for him.
The Prisons vote was similarly increased, with an additional €10 million going to the prison-building programme, and €3.7 million to a secure communications network, including a system for the blocking of mobile phones. Wheatfield, Limerick and Portlaoise prisons will be expanded.
The vote for the rest of the Justice area increases by 7 per cent. This includes an additional 70 probation officers. These will go to the youth justice area and the family courts. Fifty million euro is provided for the Youth Justice Service, an increase of 19 per cent on last year.
The Civil Legal Aid scheme also receives an allocation above inflation, receiving an additional €2.7 million, up 11 per cent. This will go to expanding the private practitioners scheme and to expanding the mediation and collaborative law work of the Civil Legal Aid scheme, which mainly assists people in family law proceedings.
The new National Property Regulatory Authority, which will replace the former Land Registry Office and the Registry of Deeds, will receive an additional 40 staff to support the greatly increased workload arising from their amalgamation, costing €2.6 million.
COSC, the domestic violence agency, receives an additional €0.8 million, and the positive action measures for women receive an additional €2 million. The Courts Service received an additional €1 million for stenography services and €2 million for support staff for the additional judges appointed recently. In addition, there is provision for capital expenditure of €180 million in 2008, and €900 million over the next four years in public-private partnership spending, such as the new Criminal Courts complex.