FULL FORCE SPENDING

Cash for up to 1,000 more gardai & 150 prison staff

- MICHAEL O'TOOLE REPORTS

THE Budget allocates more than €7.5billion on defence, state security and law and order.

This includes cash for up to 1,000 new gardai, 150 prison staff and 400 extra recruits for the Defence Forces.

Some €6.17bn has been allocated to policing, prisons, immigration and other aspects of the justice budget. And the Department of Defence has been given €1.49bn for 2026.

The total for both departments is €7.66bn.

The justice budget has increased by €77m, while defence has jumped by €140m.

In justice, the government plans to spend €77m to recruit up to 1,000 gardai in 2026. That is part of its plan to recruit 5,000 new officers in the five year lifetime of the government.

It also plans to recruit another 200 civilian staff. That will include ICT, analysis, finance and HR roles.

The Government has also allocated €1.74m to the Garda Reserve, with plans to bring it to more than 600 members - compared to the current level of around 300.

An extra €19m has been found for Garda overtime next year, bringing the total to €169m. There is also an extra €14m non-pay funding - and that includes cash to roll out body cameras across the force.

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