Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)

I join the Senator in acknowledging the appointment of Superintendent Michael Corbett as An Garda Síochána's first rural crime lead. I spoke to him recently at the National Ploughing Championships when we launched our new rural safety strategy. I sit on the national rural safety forum and have attended its meetings. It is fantastic in respect of our approach to ensuring our communities are as safe as possible and reassuring people, particularly in rural Ireland, that our communities are being policed and that we are doing our utmost to ensure people feel safe in their homes and communities. Superintendent Corbett is a fantastic choice by the Garda Commissioner. I note the comments of the deputy president of the IFA, Alice Doyle, who co-chairs the national rural safety forum. She is doing a fantastic job in that role along with Assistant Commissioner Paula Hilman.

Given the experience of the joint policing committees - I sat on the Limerick joint policing committee, which was a fantastic forum - I regret that Oireachtas Members will not be sitting on the LCSPs but that does not mean that as public representatives, we cannot interact with An Garda Síochána. We interact and will continue to do so. That is our job as public representatives. The new safety partnerships provide for a broader reach and inclusion of stakeholders, which is not a bad thing. They do not provide as much for local authority members but drawing on my experience in Limerick, there is no reason that across the country, local municipal or metropolitan areas cannot interact with An Garda Síochána on their agenda in the same way they meet any other group in the public service.