James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It would vary around the country but of the ones I have met there is very strong coherence, connectivity and interaction between the various committees. They have the same interests at heart.

I was at the opening of an all-weather pitch in Balbriggan today where I could see all that coherence coming together, with Fingal County Council management, the councillors themselves, the local GAA club, the local soccer club, the president of the GAA and the vice-chair of the FAI and many other community people present to support this initiative, which is basically about sport but is helping children be active, physically exercised and well. There are also the night leagues, which the Garda run in conjunction with the youth service in my Department. They are aimed at keeping youngsters out of trouble. The league is run from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. on a Friday night because that is the night when they are most likely to become involved in criminal activity and where they have been in operation they have been very successful. The results show that there has been a 20% reduction in minor crimes. That is another example of co-operating right across the various committees and the community.

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