More than 1,000 teachers and extra gardaí will be recruited next year as part of budget deals finalised by the Government. The Cabinet signed off on the spending side of Budget 2015 at a special meeting yesterday, but work will continue over the weekend on final tweaks to the tax package to be announced by Minister for Finance Michael Noonan.
Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton has agreed spending ceilings for her department with Minister for Public Expenditure Brendan Howlin but it is understood she has yet to decide how to allocate funding.
Social welfare
Sources said extra social welfare payments, if any, announced by Ms Burton would not be substantial but would be made as a “gesture”. Her department will spend less next year than this year, principally because of the increasing numbers going back to work.
Minister for Education Jan O’Sullivan has secured funding to hire more than 1,000 additional teachers, mostly for primary schools. Ms O’Sullivan has been allocated money for capital spending but sources said most of her extra money will be spent hiring teachers.
The Irish Times reported earlier this week that Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald was pushing for additional funding to be made available to ensure Garda numbers are brought up to the levels requested by senior management in the force, and it is understood she has secured agreement on this.
Senior Garda officers had expressed concern that the strength of the force has dipped below 13,000, and Ms Fitzgerald was seeking “to ensure ongoing seamless recruitment”, according to one source. The Department of Justice has also received capital funding for an upgrade of the Garda fleet, but no detailed figures were available.
Garda IT upgrade
Funding has also been made available to build new divisional Garda headquarters, and IT systems used by the force will be upgraded once the Garda Inspectorate completes a report on the issue later in 2015.
Minister for the Environment Alan Kelly was described by a number of sources as the big winner, with a package worth "hundreds of millions" for social housing.
The Department of Health will be give a two-year budget deal in an effort to ensure it can adhere to spending limits laid out at the start of each year.
Minister for Health Leo Varadkar was seeking a neutral allocation for next year, equal to the total amount provided for this year. This would comprise the €13.7 billion given to his department in last year's budget, as well as a supplementary estimate "in excess" of €500 million to be provided in the coming weeks.
He has been allocated an additional €300 million for 2015, with the remainder made up from once off payments. However, sources said the 2016 deal is not as clear cut, with suggestions Mr Varadkar raised concerns at Cabinet about the second year of the package.
