Robbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit chuig an Teach ar maidin. I would like to discuss the role of the peace commissioner with the Minister of State and request that a review of the duties of peace commissioners is carried out with a view to expanding that particular role.

Peace commissioners have been working in communities across the country since the early 1920s. A peace commissioner is an honorary position and every single area in the country has people performing these duties, which makes them very accessible to the public. It is estimated that there are more than 5,000 peace commissioners around the country, but very little is known about them unless they come into contact or someone needs their service at some point.

Peace commissioners are responsible for a wide range of duties currently, including taking statutory declarations and oaths, witnesses' signatures on documents required by various authorities and signing certificates and orders under various Acts. They are required to be persons of good character who are well established in their local community. They receive no payments, fees or expenses for the services that they do; they do it as good citizens. They also have the authority to sign summonses and warrants, although these powers are not exercised very often, as in most cases, applications for search warrants are made to the local District Court.

One duty that they are not currently allowed to do is to witness and sign affidavits for social housing applications. This is one duty in which peace commissioners could be of benefit to the local community, particularly where the applicant seeking a signature is affected, like many people are, by cost-of-living issues or perhaps a separation from a partner and simply cannot afford the cost of going to a solicitor for the purpose of that declaration.

I firmly believe that now is the time to examine the expansion of the role of the peace commissioner to look at this particular function and perhaps any other possible functions they could perform for the benefit of the communities in which they live.