I move:—
That a sum not exceeding £59,320 be granted to complete the sum necessary to defray the charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of March, 1956 for the salaries and expenses of the Office of the Minister for Justice.
I propose, if the House agrees, to follow the same procedure as in previous years and to deal generally with the group of Estimates Nos. 29 to 37 for which I am responsible as Minister. These Estimates, which are all for essential services, show little change as compared with previous years and I am sure that the House will not expect me to give a detailed explanation of them.
The aggregate amount of the nine Estimates is £5,206,920, an increase of £53,880 as compared with the Estimates for 1954-55.
The first Estimate, No. 29, is for a total of £88,980 for the Office of the Minister for Justice. It shows an increase of £3,700 as compared with last year. This is mainly due to the occurrence during the year of 53 pay days for staff paid weekly, and the provision of additional staff for the Office of An Bord Uchtála. The increases due to the foregoing are offset to some extent by the retrenchment of other clerical posts. Last year reference was made to the Adoption Act, 1952. The administration of this Act is now proceeding smoothly. During the year 1954 the number of adoption Orders made was 888, an increase of 507 as compared with 1953. The board now have the services of a specially qualified inspector to assist them in the investigation of applications to adopt.
The next Estimate, No. 30, is for £4,519,920 for the Garda Síochána. It shows an increase of £69,670 as compared with the Estimate for 1953-54. There is a decrease of £65,815 under the pay sub-head due mainly to the retirement of members receiving the maximum rate of pay and their replacement by recruits at the minimum rate. The main increases are £18,012 for clothing and equipment (sub-head E), and £122,385 for pensions and gratuities (sub-head P). The increase in the cost of clothing and equipment is due to the provision of better quality cloth for Garda uniform. The cost of pensions is an ever-increasing charge and will continue to increase for some years before the peak is reached as more and more of those who were recruited in the early days of the force reach the age of retirement or become eligible to retire on full pension.
Since April, 1948, the strength of the force has fallen from 7,510 all ranks to 6,699 on the 1st April of this year; a reduction of 811. Two factors have operated to reduce the strength; the stoppage of recruiting for some years and the large increase in the number of retirements on pension during the past three years. Retirements on pension either voluntarily or on reaching age limits in 1952 totalled 156; in 1953 the number was 310 and in 1954 it was 362. The total wastage in 1954 including retirements on health grounds, deaths, dismissals, etc., was 448.
As indicated in the previous paragraph, an increase in the number of retirements may be expected each year over the next few years. There are nearly 3,500 members of the force who are over 50 years of age. A very large number of these have 30 years' service and can consequently retire on pension at any time. Over 1,000 members of the force have 33 years' service and are in a position to retire and receive full pension in addition to the maximum lump sum gratuity payable under the Garda Síochána Pensions Order, 1951. It is anticipated that pensions and/or gratuities will be payable in respect of 480 additional members of the force during the year 1955-56. It is proposed during the year to enrol 450 recruits.
The provision of cars for use at district headquarters is continuing. Fifteen additional cars are to be provided during the current year and this will leave about 30 districts yet to be supplied. The cars are required to provide greater mobility for the smaller number of men now attached to stations. In addition to these cars it is proposed to provide six motor cycles to increase the traffic control squads on duty in and around Dublin.
The Prisons Estimate, No. 31, at £185,740, is £9,790 less than last year; the decrease is mainly due to the fall in the number of prisoners and reduced expenditure on the improvement and maintenance of buildings. The daily average number of prisoners in custody has fallen over the past ten years from 732 to 450. There is a very marked decline in the number of women prisoners, the daily average number in custody in 1945 was 97, in 1954 it was only 27. Having regard to the continuous fall in the number of persons in custody, I am considering whether it would be possible to close some of the existing establishments.
Estimate No. 32 for the District Court is for £83,540 and shows a decrease of £10,000 as compared with 1954-55. This decrease is accounted for in the main by reduced provision being required for the pay and travelling expenses of temporary district justices, lesser factors being a reduction of four in the total staff employed and a smaller provision for additional clerical assistance.
I do not think there is need for me to say anything about Estimates Nos. 33 to 37 for the Circuit Court, the Supreme and High Courts, the Land Registry and Registry of Deeds, the Public Record Office and the Office of Charitable Donations and Bequests. The small variations in the sums included for the current year as compared with 1953-54 are due to minor adjustments in staffs and adjustments of pay consequent on the grant of normal increases in salary. With regard to the Land Registry I would, however, like to refer to the arrears which accumulated, following the end of emergency, in connection with the completion of the registration of Land Commission vestings. These arrears were caused by the progressive increase in the number of such vestings over the post-war years. Last year when the Estimates were being introduced the hope was expressed that when introducing the Estimates for 1955-56 the Minister for Justice would be in a position to report that the arrears had been cleared off. I am glad to be able to state that this is so, the work in connection with the registration of Land Commission vestings is now up to date.
It has been customary for the Minister for Justice when introducing the Estimates for his Department to give a brief summary of the volume of crime in this country. I propose to continue the practice.
I am glad to be able to tell the House that the upward trend in indictable crime which was a cause of much concern in recent years was reversed in 1954. The interim figures for 1954 show a substantial and very welcome decrease of 22 per cent. compared with 1953. The actual decrease was 3,514, the number of indictable offences being 12,088.
The decrease is accounted for mainly by a decrease of nearly 3,000 in the Dublin metropolitan area where the number of larcenies of pedal cycles was down by over 2,500 and the number of housebreakings down by 382. Decreases in other classes of indictable offences were smaller but there was some decrease in every class.
The decrease can be attributed in part to an increase in police strength in the metropolitan area and we may hope that this will continue to have effect. It is too soon to say whether the improvement shown last year will be maintained and while we welcome it as a step in the right direction (and a very big one at that, for a single year) we cannot be satisfied while the figures are still nearly double what they were before the war.
There was little change in the level of juvenile crime. The number of persons under 18 years of age who committed indictable offences was 2,524, a reduction of 33 compared with 1953. The number charged in court was, however, down by 416, to 2,058, but this was almost entirely due to the fact that, in certain types of cases, the Attorney-General has authorised superintendents to caution children under 14 years of age instead of prosecuting them. This authority was exercised in 471 cases in 1954. I would refer Deputies who may be interested in this point to the Dáil Debates for 11th November, 1953, where the instructions are quoted in full.
There was a reduction of over 21,000 in the number of prosecutions for summary offences. The number of these prosecutions in 1954 was just over 109,500. This is much the same as before the war. In 1938, for instance, the number was 104,188. As usual, most of the prosecutions—over 61,000— were for road traffic offences. Next came offences against the licensing laws (16,634), unlicensed dogs (7,167), and offences against the School Attendances Act (4,457). The prosecutions for road traffic offences were down by over 17,000, compared with 1953, but I fear that I cannot go so far as to say that that reduction is a sign of improving standards of driving. I think it is mainly due to the fact that the Garda are becoming less inclined to prosecute for trivial traffic offences of a technical nature. That is a tendency which I am glad to encourage, for it is more important to concentrate on bad and inconsiderate driving on the roads than to watch out for motorists who may spend half a minute too long in a limited parking place.
The Estimates, as I said at the beginning, are all for essential services. They vary little from year to year and I trust that the House will find no difficulty in approving of them.