Martin Mansergh (Fianna Fail)

I warmly welcome amendment No. 37. The matter arose on Second Stage when I, among others, pressed very strongly for the inclusion of town councils rather than just county and city councils. I have come to the House from the Oireachtas Library where I consulted section 2 of the Local Government Act 2001, which contains the definitions of terms used in that statute. According to the Act, "local authority" means a county council, city council or town council.

From my experience in Tipperary, I can see the enormous value of establishing policing committees which are based, to a degree, on the district policing partnerships which have been established in the North under the Patten reforms. Currently, where there are grievances or concerns about policing, there is no institutional mechanism for conveying them except in an informal manner. Policing committees will be of great value in allowing people to convey any concerns to the Garda. Equally, the committees will allow that to be a two-way process whereby the Garda can convey any concerns it has. Not everything which has an impact or is related to policing is within Garda jurisdiction. There are things local authorities can do to facilitate the Garda to better carry out its functions. Again, I warmly welcome the Government amendment which arose out of the Seanad debate on Second Stage. I can see it having a most positive impact.