Victor Boyhan (Independent)

There is an inconsistency in this regard because that does not happen in many of the Dublin local area committees. The structure in the cities is slightly different from that in the counties. I thank the Minister of State for setting out his stall. There is a lot of work done, with more to do. We need consistency. We can see how few local authority areas have got the bodies up and running so there is a lot of work to do. There is a lot of recruitment and engagement to be done. The Government should trust our city and county councillors to continue to take the lead in this really important work. We should remember that they are democratically elected. They are representative of communities - minorities, majorities and other stakeholders. They have a mandate. Not too many people around the table have the mandate they have. They have a very strong mandate to represent their communities and are best placed at the heart of local communities to represent all stakeholders equally.

I commend the Garda Commissioner, Justin Kelly, on his announcement of the appointment of the first Garda rural crime lead. It is a very positive step. I join the deputy president of the IFA, Alice Doyle, who issued a statement last night strongly welcoming the appointment of Superintendent Michael Corbett as An Garda Síochána's first rural crime lead. This is another important facet of community policing, particularly in rural areas. I salute the Garda Commissioner for that appointment and the recognition of the need for a lead in rural communities. I acknowledge the support for that appointment from the deputy president of the IFA.