Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

526. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if Deputies will sit on local community safety partnerships similar to the joint policing committees; the reason for this decision; if he will provide details of the membership of the partnerships; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9533/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

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 Commission's report recommended the establishment of national and local structures to bring together Departments and State agencies involved in harm prevention to promote community safety.

The Policing, Security and Community Safety Act 2024 provides for the establishment of this national infrastructure, central to which are Local Community Safety Partnerships (LCSPs) which will operate at each local authority level. They are building upon the good work undertaken through Joint Policing Committees (JPCs). LCSPs are also supplementing the work done by JPCs by bringing together a broader range of stakeholders including local councillors, An Garda Síochána, local residents, community representatives, business and education representatives, and a variety of statutory agencies including the HSE, Tusla and each local authority.

The objective is to bring the relevant bodies, including the Gardaí, together with communities in a collaborative manner, by focusing on the concerns identified and prioritised by local people.

Local elected representatives have an important role to play in the Partnerships. Each LCSP will have seven elected council members as part of its mandated membership. In addition, all local elected representatives, including Oireachtas members, will have opportunities to attend and participate in meetings of their local Partnership.