Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael)
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49. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if she will provide an update on the implementation of community safety pilots; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41542/20]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, on 13 November I announced that my Department will pilot three Local Community Safety Partnerships in Dublin’s North Inner City, in Longford and in Waterford.  Local Community Safety Partnerships are the new structures proposed in my Department’s new Community Safety Policy to take a holistic approach to safety issues in partnership with the community.

They will operate at local authority administrative level and will be made up of local representatives, a range of local services, community representatives and residents.  Local Community Safety Partnerships will take a strategic approach to their work so that issues arising can be dealt with in a coordinated manner, addressed collectively by relevant service providers in partnership with the community.

My Department, working with Dublin City Council, has met with the local elected officials and some of the community representatives in Dublin’s North Inner City about the pilot programme. However, to secure the community engagement that we want for this new partnership, it is crucial that we engage with residents, new communities and minority communities, as well as schools.

Ensuring strong community engagement is at the heart of the community safety approach. For this reason, my Department and Dublin City Council are developing an engagement plan for the community in Dublin’s North Inner City. This will enable us to better understand how to support their participation. Following the community engagement process, the partnership will have its first meeting early in the new year.

Each Local Community Safety Partnership will be actively supported by a dedicated resource within the local authority whose role is to support the Partnership, engage the residents in the community on safety issues and link them in with the work of the Partnership.  Dublin City Council will launch a recruitment process this month for support staff for the Dublin pilot of the Local Community Safety Partnership.

My Department has also engaged with the Chief Executives of Longford County Council and Waterford City and County Council to begin preparations for the Longford and Waterford pilots.  Officials in my Department will meet with local elected representatives of Longford County Council in January to progress the roll-out of the pilot. They will also be further engaging with Waterford County Council in January. Our intention is to have the local community safety partnerships in these areas set up in early 2021. 

The pilot projects have to adapt to new conditions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, so it is important that we look at new ways of working with the community and service providers, of building relationships and collaborating.

The tender for evaluation for the pilots, which will begin around the same time as the pilot launches, has been published and the deadline for submissions for this is 18 December.