Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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178. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the plans to operationalise community safety partnerships-joint policing committees; if he will advise how they will be formulated; if consideration will be given to allow joint policing committee meetings to take place while partnerships are operationalised; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12904/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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A key principle of the Report of 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 will build upon the good work of the JPCs, supplementing this by bringing together a broader range of relevant stakeholders including local councillors, An Garda Síochána, local residents, community representatives, business and education representatives, and a range 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.Each newly established LCSP will be required to develop and implement its own tailored community safety plan and 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.

A total of 36 Partnerships will be established, based in each local authority area. Each LCSP will be supported by a fulltime coordinator and fulltime administrator resourced by the Department of Justice and will be led by a voluntary Chair.

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 engaging directly with local authorities and other stakeholders to support the establishment of the Partnerships.