Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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1198.To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality to outline the proposed arrangements for the successor structures to replace the existing Joint Policing Committees; the areas in which it is intended to establish such structures; the timescale proposed for the establishment of such structures; and if she will make a statement on the matter.[35812/24]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1101 and 1198 together.

Community safety is about people being safe and, importantly, feeling safe in their own communities. At the heart of this policy is the principle that every community has the right to be and feel safe in order to thrive and flourish.

Our approach to community safety is a whole-of-Government one. We want to bring the relevant social service providers, including the Gardaí, together with the community in a collaborative manner, by focusing on the concerns identified by the local community itself.

Local Community Safety Partnerships (LCSPs) are provided for in Part 3 of the Policing, Security and Community Safety Act 2024, which was signed into law by the President in February 2024. LCSPs will now commence being rolled out in each local authority area.

Work is underway to ensure local coordinators are appointed for each prospective partnership and that a chair is selected. An Expression of Interest process is currently underway in each Local Authority to identify a suitable chairperson for each LCSP.

Assessment panels have commenced for the role of chairperson in a number of local authority areas and nominations for the first chairpersons will be submitted to me shortly. I am hopeful that many communities will start to see LCSPs established in their areas over the coming weeks.

The Partnerships will operate at local authority level and they will replace Joint Policing Committees (JPCs). The Partnerships will have a wider membership than JPCs and will include residents, local councillors, community representatives (including representatives of young people, older people, new and minority communities), business and education representatives and a range of public services including the HSE, Tusla, An Garda Síochána and the local authority.

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.

Pilot partnerships have been running in Longford, Waterford and Dublin's North Inner City, and each has published a local community safety plan, which are available on the respective local authority websites. The plans set out a number of agreed actions to be undertaken by the members of the Partnerships to enhance community safety in that area.

The chairperson of each Partnership will have the power under section 115 of the Policing, Security and Community Safety Act 2024 to set up a neighbourhood community safety forum. These fora would serve as subgroups of the Partnerships, including where local policing fora were already in operation. This will enable a tailored, targeted and time limited approach to be delivered in cases where issues of concern are arising in a local electoral area.

I will also be formally establishing a National Office for Community Safety later this year. The National Office will provide training, guidance and other support to the Local Community Safety Partnerships and will have responsibility for delivering the objectives of the national strategy, once approved. A Designate Director of the National Office of Community Safety will commence their role in the coming weeks. A number of staff have been appointed and have been working on matters related to the establishment of the office.