Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 4 November 2015

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality

Community Alert Programme: Muintir na Tíre

9:30 am

Photo of Pádraig Mac LochlainnPádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am a great admirer of Muintir na Tíre and I thank the organisation for its help in establishing the community alert and text alert programmes in my county of Donegal. I attended a number of meetings at which Muintir na Tíre representatives spoke about their experience in other areas. It is a tremendous organisation. Its recommendations and the issues that arise at community alert meetings are a tremendous help because they are about people on the ground. Its recommendations and observations are food for thought for those overseeing the criminal justice system. Our committee compiled a report on penal reform which looked at community sanctions rather than imprisonment. I am interested to note that the organisation is looking at electronic tagging and other forms rather than incarceration, based on the analysis of the threat the person poses. There is so much I could say on this issue. The organisation's contribution is excellent and I am sure we will forward it to the Minister for Justice and Equality, although she may have it already.

In terms of the joint policing committees, I have been a bit concerned about them. The good news is that the new policing authority, when in place, will oversee joint policing committees. They were a very good initiative when introduced but, as with many things, over time they become stale. The witnesses may have different experiences from county to county but my sense is that with a new policing authority assuming responsibility for them, I hope they can get a fresh lease of life because it is important that senior police officers work at it. Obviously Muintir na Tíre's model is a partnership with An Garda Síochána and it works well, but extending that model to the wider communities urban and rural is the issue. I want to hear the observations of the witnesses on the joint policing committees and how they could improve.

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