Cecilia Keaveney (Fianna Fail)

I endorse the words of Senator Mary White on commercial rates for providers of child care services and the early childhood subvention. It appears some local authorities impose commercial rates on child care providers while others do not. Given the value of the service provided, a uniform policy is needed, although it would be preferable if child care facilities were not rateable.

I ask the Leader to draw to the attention of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the fact that members of many local communities, even in areas where community policing forums have been established, do not believe they engage with local gardaí in a positive manner. Much of the time, this is due to a lack of interaction and information. In my contribution to the Donegal policing plan, I indicated that the Garda Síochána does not provide sufficient feedback to victims of crime and those who report crimes.

My attention was drawn recently to the annual report published by the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland. I have a copy of the report if Senators are interested in reading it. While I do not commend everything done by the PSNI, the report addresses in detail a series of interesting topics. These include: information on which police service members have died or been assigned to various areas; how money is spent; how to keep oneself safe, whether in the school yard or at home; neighbourhood policing; crime surveys; combating serious crime; safety at school; road safety; policing in the past, an important issue in the North; managing money; and annual crime figures. It is a highly informative report which is delivered to every home in the North.

This type of interaction should take place between communities here and the Garda Síochána to ensure citizens are given feedback about what the Garda is doing. Such engagement would result in fewer complaints from communities about the failure of the Garda to keep them informed.