Civil legal-aid Budget figure is ‘historic’
Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan has given more details of the spending allocation to his department in Budget 2027.
The Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration received a total of €5.9 billion – including €430 million for capital investment.
The minister has described the €14.5 million earmarked for reforms to civil legal aid as “historic”.
He said that the changes would include widening eligibility for civil legal aid, which is operated by the Legal Aid Board, in line with the recommendations of the Civil Legal Aid Review last year.
The Legal Aid Board will receive €74.6 million – an increase of just over 2% on the 2026 figure. Funding for Free Legal Advice Centres is increased by 67%.
“Overall, this represents an investment of over €90 million in access-to-justice initiatives, the highest investment in the history of the State in respect of civil legal aid,” the minister stated.
Body-worn cameras
The garda budget will increase by €167 million (6.4%) to almost €2.76 billion, with the rise supporting the recruitment of up to 1,000 gardaí next year.
The department said that the funding would also support the further roll-out of body-worn cameras to frontline gardaí and the strengthening of training – including pursuits training.
Funding for the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) will increase by €1.9 million to €15.7 million.
An 18% increase in funding for the Irish Prison Service to €686 million will support the recruitment of over 200 prison officers, investments in prison-officer training, and improvements to IT and digital infrastructure.
An increase in the capital budget will go towards several projects to provide more prison spaces – including at Midlands Prison, Castlerea Grove, Cloverhill, Castlerea Harristown, and the Dóchas Rowan Yard extension.
Migration savings
The department says that the migration budget will be reduced by €682 million, or 38%, in 2027.
This includes a reduction of €430 million ( 71%) in the cost of accommodation for people from Ukraine under temporary protection, in line with policy changes earlier this year.
The department says that a continuing programme of “reform, value for money, and governance measures” in the international-protection accommodation system will save a further €252 million.
Minister of State for migration Colm Brophy said that the EU Migration and Asylum Pact, which came into effect in June, was having “an immediate impact” in speeding up decision-making.
The department says that funding for domestic, sexual, and gender-based violence initiatives will increase by €5.3 million to €84.4 million, while there will be an additional €11.5 million for youth-justice initiatives.