Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 3 February 2021
603. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Health his plans to extend the pilot programme for the community crime impact assessment led by the community and voluntary sector to Dublin 9 and 11; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5146/21]
View answerThe Government’s strategic response to addressing drug and alcohol problems in Ireland is set out in Reducing Harm, Supporting Recovery – a health led response to drug and alcohol use in Ireland 2017-2025. The strategy contains a commitment to develop and pilot a community crime impact assessment tool in order to measure the impact of drug-related crime and wider public nuisance issues on communities. This action is the responsibility of the community and voluntary sector.
The pilot programme for the community crime impact assessment aims to measure the impact of drug related crime and wider public nuisance issues on communities with a view to informing a collaborative problem-solving approach to tackle such issues, while also monitoring the effectiveness of the response through repeat assessments over time.
A number of training workshops is planned on the community crime impact assessment tool. It is suggested further information on the workshops is sought from the sector through the details attached.
The Department of Justice is developing a community safety policy to help foster local communities that are safer for families, residents and businesses and that feel more secure. It is a crime prevention and harm reduction strategy that seeks to identify and address specific local community safety issues. Community safety can include issues relating to alcohol and substance abuse.
This policy will include the establishment of local community safety partnerships that will be responsible for developing a tailored and prioritised local community safety plan in conjunction with both the community and public services. The intention is to build the capacity of local residents to enable them to engage meaningfully in the local community safety partnership and grow local community leadership and participation. This will enable the local community safety partnership to function as a forum for dialogue between the community and service providers and strengthen trust in the people providing services.
I expect that the community crime impact assessment tool with be of assistance to the local community safety partnerships.
