Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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1188.To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the percentage of her Department's capital budget allocation that has been spent in the first eight months of 2024 to date.[35496/24]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I can inform the Deputy that there are four Votes with capital expenditure within the Justice Vote group; the Department of Justice, An Garda Síochána, the Irish Prison Service and the Courts Service of Ireland.

An initial €274m was allocated in 2024 for capital projects across the Justice sector, however, I was able to secure an additional €9m in capital funding earlier this year, bringing the total capital budget available to €283m.

I can advise the Deputy that total expenditure to 31 August 2024 across the sector is €133.698m giving a percentage spend of 47.24%. As the Deputy will appreciate, capital expenditure throughout the year tends to be uneven with a higher drawdown at year-end. I am informed that the 2024 capital allocation will be utilised.

This expenditure has supported the implementation of my Department’s IT Strategy on projects such as cybersecurity and enhanced resilience as well as supporting modernisation programmes in the delivery of international protection and immigration services.

There has been major investment in new and refurbished Garda stations, the roll out of body worn cameras in Dublin, Limerick and Waterford, purchase of additional Garda fleet, including 15 additional electric vehicles and two public order vehicles in 2024. The fleet is now at over 3,400 Garda vehicles – the largest fleet of vehicles in the organisation’s history and a 31% increase since 2015.

Additional funding is being provided in 2024-2026 to complete existing Garda Estate projects such as refurbishment works in Slane, Co. Meath and Abbeyleix, Co. Laois and development of a new Garda Station in Bailieborough, Co. Cavan. Work is also underway on development of new Garda stations in Macroom Co. Cork, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary, Newcastlewest, Co. Limerick and Portlaoise, Co. Laois with construction expected to start on these projects later this year.

Investment has allowed the creation of additional prison spaces to increase capacity within the Irish Prison Service (IPS) as well as an increase in the IPS fleet. Preparatory work will commence this year on four key projects in Cloverhill, Castlerea, Midlands and Mountjoy prisons as part of an accelerated capital construction programme with construction expected to start on a phased basis in 2025 – 2027.

In addition to supporting the construction of the new Family Law Courts at Hammond Lane via PPP, funding is being provided to the Courts Service for IT modernisation projects, site acquisitions, capital works and sustainability projects.