Lynn Ruane (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I understand that the principles may be there but I sometimes wonder, in a collective sense, where the ideology is in respect of the community. We can say "community" but there is still a separation that happens. For me, it is about putting on the record that there cannot be a division of what that is and is not.

Beyond that, while the policing principles have been expanded to include community safety, there is no definition in the Bill as to what community safety means. Should the Bill have a definition of community safety? Some words can be washy and interpreted in different ways. To go back to my point on addiction, some people will go to prison for something addiction related and will be forced into homelessness because they will lose their tenancy with, say, Dublin City Council. That would create an unsafe place, which goes against the principles of community safety. Another example is when some people's houses are used, for example, older persons in isolation, to hold or cut up substances, etc. It is about what community safety actually is. If there were a definition of that, it might also capture, in a much more real sense, the intentions and principles. Community safety could mean anything to anyone. It could mean expelling anyone you do not agree with within your community and that somehow creates community safety. What is the meaning of community safety when it comes to policing principles?