Joe Neville (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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227. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality when the guidelines for the local community safety partnership initiative will be sent to Kildare County Council; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5182/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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A key principle of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland is that community safety requires multi-agency cooperation working in partnership with An Garda Síochána and crucially with communities themselves. The Report recommended the establishment of national and local structures to bring together the relevant departments and State agencies involved in harm prevention to promote community safety.

As the Deputy may be aware, the Policing, Security and Community Safety Act 2024 provides for the establishment of this national infrastructure, central to which are Local Community Safety Partnerships which will operate at each local authority level. In preparation for the national roll out of these Partnerships the Department piloted the model in three areas, Dublin North Inner City, Waterford and Longford and commissioned an independent evaluation of them.

The Act also provides for a National Office for Community Safety. A function of this Office is to provide training, guidance and support to the Partnerships. In preparation for the establishment of the National Office a number of staff, including a Director Designate, have been appointed. These staff are working on preparations for the establishment of Local Community Safety Partnerships including developing a comprehensive guidance document informed by the learning from the pilots. The staff are also engaging directly with local authorities and other stakeholders to support establishment of Partnerships.