Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I was at the meeting of the Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality when the group dealing with tourists who have become victims made a presentation, and I was very struck by it. I would point out to the previous Senator that there is a good deal happening in terms of the European victims directive. I am advised by the Minister that legislation on this area will be introduced in the new year. The TrackMyCrime service is a fantastic way of giving those who have been the victims of crime some feedback. People want to have communication in that they want to know what is happening.

As a result of yesterday's budget, I hope we will see some investment in ICT in terms of the Garda and within Garda stations. In this day and age it is ridiculous that one cannot e-mail a Garda station. As the Minister is cognisant of those issues I think there will be significant improvements in feedback and implementation of the European victims directive and we will see legislation in the new year.

In regard to the motion, I thought it was a very useful debate. We have got great testimonials from many Members serving on JPCs. Practically every Member in this House has served on a JPC. While there is much wrong with them, a significant amount is right. We now have a formalised structure for engagement where local public representatives with Oireachtas Members and community activists can engage. It would be worthwhile for every Member to read the new JPC guidelines, as much of what has been discussed here today is contained in the new guidelines issued by the Department. I acknowledge that there appears to be a delay in setting up JPCs following on from the local elections. However, that is not unusual for JPCs. Many of the new structures introduced as a result of the recent local government changes and which manifested themselves in the election in the aftermath are taking time to put in place. In terms of the regional authorities, the new structures will not be fully in place until the new year. When the structure is in place I hope the JPCs will operate more effectively than in the past.

Senators Thomas Byrne and Michael D'Arcy were concerned that the JPCs were too large. It is provided for in the guidelines that subcommittees can be set up on a municipal district level or a dual municipal district level if that is deemed necessary by the members of the overarching committee. There are means within the guidelines for dealing with a county with a significantly wide geographic area, a mixture of urban and rural. The debate on Garda numbers and Garda cars is one for a different forum. What we have had here was a discussion on the future of JPCs and how they can be more efficient, effective and more representative. Garda resources and all those issues can be ways in other ways. It is important to remain focused. JPCs have worked well and can work much better and, as such, I hope that whatever votes we may have, hopefully none, will be focused on the workings of JPCs.

I thank the significant number of Senators who contributed to the debate. It was a useful debate and is a issue we should come back to in terms of the operation of the new JPCs. We should always be prepared to review and improve.