Courts to benefit from €6m boost for maintenance and ICT

The Courts Service will benefit from more than €6 million in additional funding for courthouse maintenance, staffing and ICT technology in Budget 2018, Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan has revealed.

Mr Flanagan said €2.6 billion will be allocated to the justice sector in Budget 2018, a €100 million increase in current expenditure.

Most of the additional funding will be invested in An Garda Síochána, he said, with the recruitment of 800 gardaí and 500 civilian gardaí staff.

However, the courts will also benefit from €1.5 million for courthouse maintenance and staffing and the Legal Aid Board will be allocated €1.25 million to match demand and allow for pay increases in 2018.

An additional €5 million will also be made available to facilitate investment in ICT technology in the courts.

Mr Flanagan said: “We continue to work to make the administration of justice more efficient. The Courts Service is confident that this €5m investment will improve services for citizens through the provision of courtroom technology to assist the efficient running of courts.

“It will also support enhanced collaboration within the justice sector in criminal matters and developments in data sharing between justice agencies.”

An additional €4 million in funding has been allocated to the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner, bringing its budget to almost €11.7 million - up by more than 400 per cent from 2014.

Mr Flangan said: “It is entirely appropriate that additional funding is provided to the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner in view of the fundamental transformation to the data protection environment arising from the implementation of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in 2018.

“It reflects the importance of a stable and effective data protection regulatory environment to the continuing presence and investment by the technology multi-national sector in Ireland. The significance of a robust Irish data protection regime to the continuing expansion and growth of the digital economy cannot be underestimated.”