Paula Butterly (Louth, Fine Gael)
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I welcome the news that the Policing, Security and Community Safety Act will be commenced in the coming days. Following that, I welcome the news that the secondary legislation required for these regulations will also be enacted shortly thereafter. These regulations cannot come soon enough. The establishment of the chairs and the committees are sorely needed in counties like Louth. Without going into a history lesson on crime in County Louth, to say that we, as a Border county, have had a unique relationship with crime is no mystery to anyone. In recent decades, however, we have seen a shift in the manner of crime being committed within the county. We have seen gangland and rural crime, not to mention drug crime within the county devastating communities and trying to tear them apart. The community spirit in the county is very strong, however. Places and communities like the Redeemer Family Resource Centre and Moneymore in Drogheda, despite the challenges they have faced in recent decades, have a strong spirit and are still standing strong. I visisted Moneymore in Drogheda this morning where staff are in the process of fund-raising for a new community centre. They are openly there not just to revive and face the challenges of their own community but also to welcome in the other people of Drogheda and all the communities in the hinterland. We need to be supporting communities like these as they face these challenges. Towns like Drogheda, as the mayor of Drogheda, Paddy McQuillan, has urged me again and again, need support. How do we get that collaboration? It is through the key stakeholders and the leaders of the community, along with An Garda Síochána. This has been very effective. We have seen that with the Drogheda implementation board, which received investment of €16 million. It has brought about changes, investment in youth diversion programmes, extra policing and also key, crucial programmes for community groups. The establishment of the new local community safety partnerships, LCSPs, is not only crucial to towns like Drogheda and Dundalk, but also to Ardee and Dunleer in their hinterlands, as well as the smaller villages like Castlebellingham, Tallanstown and Louth. I urge for these regulations to come fast and furious.

Colm Brophy (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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I am well aware of the incredible work the Deputy does with local communities on this issue and how she has championed it. On behalf of the Minister, Deputy O’Callaghan, I thank the Deputy for raising this matter today. The Government is committed to building stronger, safer communities and community safety as a whole-of-government responsibility. Community safety is about much more than policing. It is about how we look after and support each other and the most vulnerable in our society. It is about the provision of services that focus on prevention and early interventions, such as addiction support and early childhood interventions. It is about supporting businesses and how our communities in which we live look and feel. It is also about State services working with each other and the community to take a shared approach in solving issues relating to community safety.

High-visibility policing is, of course, an important factor in communities feeling safe but our gardaí are not solely responsible for safety in our communities. This is what the new whole-of-government community safety structure is central to and what LCSPs will aim to address. It will bring the relevant service providers and An Garda Síochána together to work with each community in a collaborative manner to focus on tackling the concerns identified and prioritised by the local community itself. That is really important, as someone who has come through this from a council background right the way through to being a TD.

The Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill 2024, which Minister O’Callaghan enacted yesterday, provides for the establishment of these local community safety partnerships, which will operate at each local authority level. The partnerships will replace and build upon the good work of the joint policing committees, supplementing this by bringing together a broader range of relevant stakeholders including local councillors, An Garda Síochána, local residents, community representatives, business and education representatives and a range of statutory agencies, including the HSE, Tusla and each local authority. As someone who was on a joint policing committee for many years, I acknowledge and thank all the people who worked on those committees over the years. Those people did an incredible job.

Three innovative pilot LCSPs were set up in Waterford, Longford and Dublin’s north-inner city in 2021. The pilot process was accompanied by an independent evaluation to help inform best practice for the national roll-out. We see how the model can succeed in different contexts and settings. Each newly established local community safety partnership will be required to develop and implement its own tailored community safety plan and will take a strategic approach to their work so that issues arising can be dealt with in a co-ordinated manner, addressed collectively by relevant service providers in partnership with the community.

A total of 36 partnerships will be established, based in each local authority administrative area. Each LCSP will be supported by a full-time co-ordinator and a full-time administrator, resourced by the Department of Justice. Section 114 of the Policing, Security and Community Safety Act 2024 provides for making of regulations to establish the LCSPs. My Department is working with the Office of Parliamentary Legal Advisers, OPLA, to facilitate drafts of these regulations, which it is proposed will commence shortly.

Paula Butterly (Louth, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for his reply on behalf of the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan. It very much reflects my own thoughts regarding these community safety partnerships. As I said at the outset, these cannot come about quickly enough. The partnerships are part of the community and policing coming together to work for the betterment of the community. Towns like Drogheda are now on the cusp of returning to their former glory. The town has always been vibrant and once attracted people from near and far. We need to get these regulations in place and get the committees and partnerships set up. We also need to follow through with the investment, which will be vital to ensure that Drogheda and Dundalk, but particularly Drogheda town receives all the investment it needs to make it a safe place and safe community to work and live in.

Colm Brophy (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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I agree with the Deputy that it is really important to get them up and running quickly, to get community buy-in and to get that feeling that we are moving forward in this area. I think we are. The implementation of the Act will have a tremendous effect. The resourcing of it is there and I have no doubt, from my own community where I have dealt with a host of issues in this area, that there is a real desire in community groups to see this work and succeed. I know the Department is determined, through the resourcing being made available, to see that happen as well.