Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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136. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the timeline for the operationalisation of the community safety partnerships; if any changes to the partnerships are under consideration; if there are plans to have interim meetings while the partnerships are being established; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23474/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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I acknowledge the Deputy's concerns and I want to repeat that it is absolutely my intention that the Local Community Safety Partnerships will be established as soon as possible following completion of the necessary regulations. The Partnerships are the cornerstone of our policy on community safety and so it's vital we get them up and running so that they can begin work on the development of a community safety plan for their respective areas.

Community Safety means Government Departments, state agencies, community organisations and the public working together alongside An Garda Síochána with the common aim of making Ireland safer. While An Garda Síochána will always be available to prevent and respond to crime, they cannot be expected to enhance community safety alone, it must be a collective and collaborative approach. Local Community Safety Partnerships (LCSPs) will help prioritise the voice of local people in identifying and addressing community safety issues in their local area.

This is a concept which we have piloted over a number of years in several different locations, it has been independently evaluated and most importantly we know it can deliver results in the form of safer communities.

A total of 36 Partnerships will be rolled out following the finalising of regulations, based in each local authority administrative area. Each LCSP will be led by a voluntary Chair and supported by a coordinator and administrator. These full-time, permanent, staff posts are resourced by the Department of Justice and employed by the relevant local authority. In preparation for the establishment of the Partnerships, local authorities have been recruiting these staff and so far 24 Coordinators and 18 Administrators have been appointed across the country. The Chair will be elected from amongst and by the Partnership membership.

It is not the intention that interim meetings will be held while the partnerships are being established. However I am aware that a number of local authorities have convened non-statutory, bilateral meetings between local An Garda Síochána senior management and elected members in response to specific issues in their administrative area, as an interim measure while awaiting establishment of an LCSP.