Record justice budget will deliver more Gardaí to build stronger, safer communities – Ward

Record funding for the justice sector in Budget 2025 will recruit an additional 1,000 Gardaí and provide more public order equipment for officers on the beat, a Fine Gael Senator has said.

Senator Barry Ward, General Election Candidate for Dún Laoghaire said that Fine Gael Justice Minister Helen McEntee has delivered on her party’s commitment to building stronger safer communities across Ireland in Budget 2025, with €3.61bn in current expenditure and €310m for capital investment.

Senator Barry Ward, Fine Gael Seanad spokesperson on Justice, said: “This unprecedented investment of almost €4bn will equip frontline Gardaí with the tools and resources necessary to strengthen crime prevention and detection.

“In addition to the recruitment of extra Gardaí, €5m is to be provided for the Public Order Unit, to include two new water cannons, crowd control barriers, expansion of the dog unit and ore body armour frontline Gardaí – all of which will enable them to be safe when on the beat.

“I am particularly pleased to see that there is also substantial funding to expand the prison service, with 1,100 new prison places in the next 5 years.

“The €25m package of investment in our immigration system will streamline the international protection process, recruiting additional staff and reducing processing times.

“In addition, I welcome a significant increase which will bring the funding for domestic, sexual and gender-based violence to €70m, a trebling of the funding to this sector since Minister McEntee took office.

“This new funding will ensure we are on track to double the number of refuge spaces as part of the Zero Tolerance strategy.

“Fine Gael has always been the party of law and order, and building safe communities is a key value of our party. Today’s record justice budget should leave nobody in any doubt as to our commitment to keeping our communities secure, now and into the future,” Senator Ward concluded.