Lisa Chambers (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the engagement of the Minister on this particular section. I am speaking to the Government amendment No. 84 and also the Fianna Fáil amendments Nos. 76a, 82aand 83a.

We have well hashed out the issues relating to this section and I thank the Minister and her Department for the extensive engagement that we had over the past number of months. We had several meetings on this particular section. When we first started out when the Bill came to Seanad, because it had passed through the Dáil, this section had gone unnoticed. There were many questions around the disbandment of the JPCs and their replacement by the LCSPs. In the absence of having the reports back on the pilots that were running, there were questions we could not answer because we did not have that information and in the absence of draft regulations, we were working blind. That led us to have several meetings and to ask pertinent and important questions because we were seeking clarification on a number of matters. The key areas that we sought clarification on were the number of meetings that would be held. Currently, the JPCs meet quarterly so we needed an assurance that this would be maintained. We received that assurance from the Minister. There may well be additional meetings on top of that. It was good to get that clarification.

The make-up of the LCSP was of particular concern because there was a fear and a view that there would not be space for all the local authority members and elected members to have a space on the new LCSP and that the numbers from the JPC would be maintained. I welcome the fact that the Minister has given absolute clarification that not only will there be at least six or seven members but the number could go up to 17. That means that every member who wants to be on it, can be. Nothing in the legislation precludes that. We needed clarification on that and we got it. In particular, I acknowledge amendment No. 84 from the Government and I thank the Tánaiste, Deputy Micheál Martin, who raised this at Cabinet, to make sure that nothing in the regulation would preclude a councillor from chairing the LCSP. In my view and that of my party, the councillor is best placed to chair that partnership. It will be a matter for decision locally, within the LCSP, as to who chairs that local group. I hope to see councillors putting themselves forward for that role. I have no doubt they will do that. That amendment was sought by us, as Fianna Fáil Senators, and was secured. I will go as far as to say it is the only significant amendment in that section that has actually been delivered. It has been delivered by the Fianna Fáil Senators with the assistance of the Minister and the Tánaiste as well.

In regard to the regulations, I fully accept the flexibility needed to run new organisations such as this and that the JPC is not set down in full detail in primary legislation. We get all of that, which is why the questions flowed as to how it will be made up, how it will run and how many meetings there would be. I welcome the clarification from the Minister, she made this point before Christmas. I spoke this morning, as we have done on several occasions, with representatives of the AILG, and we have also engaged with LAMA. The message from the AILG this morning is that it is happy with the amendment that we have secured. It looks forward to engaging with the Minister on the regulations and welcomes that commitment and clarification. I am glad she put it on the record today that she has no difficulty, and of course she would not, in meeting with Oireachtas Members and other stakeholders, including councillors, in the preparation of those regulations and that they do what we all want them to do and make the LCSPs work effectively. We are not against change. We are not against progress or against doing things differently but maintaining the role of the local elected member was vitally important for our members and we have ensured that will be case.

I am happy with the work we have done on this. We have fulfilled our mandate, engaged with those who elected us to be here. Importantly, to reiterate the point others have made, sometimes people can scoff at Senators coming in to defend the role of the local councillor. Local democracy is vitally important. Those elected by their local communities have a mandate to serve their communities well and they do it with distinction. I make no apology for defending their right to continue to do their job in the excellent manner in which they do it. I am proud of what we Fianna Fáil Senators have achieved in bringing about those clarifications on the number of meetings, the make-up of the LCSPs and that the number of councillors will be maintained - it could be more or less, a decision will be taken locally - and also that a councillor can chair that partnership. That was not the case before Fianna Fáil Senators engaged on this. That is an important point that we would like to make from this side of the House. I can see others are egging to get in, but I do not think I have repeated myself on this occasion. It may have happened previously.

We on this side are entitled to make our views known as well and to do our jobs and raise our issues. We respect the right of other Members to do the same. We listen attentively when others make their points. I look forward to engaging with the Minister on the regulations. I believe there may be a role as well for the Joint Committee on Justice to look further into this. It would have been desirable to have the pilots concluded and to be able to read a full evaluation in advance of this. It would have been preferable to have access to the regulations in advance. However, the fact that we can engage with the Minister on the preparation of those regulations means that we have input into this. The councillors, other stakeholders and community groups will have input into this. The points have been well made. Amendment No. 84 is important. It does exactly what we needed it to do. It protects the role of the local elected member in becoming the chair of that LCSP. When they are up and running, I wish them the very best. We want those partnerships to work. We want community policing to be effective, to build stronger and safer communities, as a Government priority. We all want to see that happen. Every community is different. Every part of the country has different issues that they have to address. What works in Dublin city centre is different from what works in Castlebar, County Mayo where I live. The fact that each LCSP will have input from local community groups and elected members locally should mean that they will work effectively and raise issues that are of local interest to local people living in that community. Again I thank the Minister for her engagement. I appreciate it was probably a frustrating process at times but we all appreciated we have a job to do to represent the people we are here to represent, namely our communities and elected members of local authorities.