James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for raising this important matter. I will bring her concerns to the attention of the Minister. I understand that as of 31 August 2022, the latest date for which figures are available, Laytown Garda station currently has a strength of one inspector, three sergeants and 15 gardaí, all of whom are uniformed personnel providing a front-line policing service to the Laytown, Bettystown and Mornington areas of east Meath.

I am advised that on weekdays, the member from the district who opens the station in the morning conducts beat patrols for the remainder of his or her tour of duty in the Laytown-Bettystown area in support of Laytown personnel. I am informed by Garda management that an active management plan is in place at weekends, which is deployed at 7 a.m. on Saturdays and remains in place until 9 p.m. on Sunday to deter illegal parking. Members are briefed to adopt a zero-tolerance approach to traffic and public order issues with fixed-charge penalty notices being utilised, where appropriate.

More broadly, it is important to emphasise that as recommended by the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland, responsibility for community safety does not rest solely with An Garda Síochána or the Department of Justice but rather as a whole-of-government approach.This principle is at the centre of the Government's new policing policy on community safety, which will be given a statutory basis. A new policing, security and community safety Bill proposes to establish and support a system of community safety at local level throughout the country. New local community safety partnerships will bring all services and the community together at local authority level, replacing the existing joint policing committees to serve as a comprehensive forum for discussion and decisions on community priorities. The Minister will continue to drive the ongoing concerted activity towards nationwide policy roll-out following the conclusion of the current pilot period at the end of 2023.