Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 14 Dec 2000

Vol. 528 No. 3

Written Answers. - Neighbourhood Watch Schemes.

Nora Owen

Ceist:

224 Mrs. Owen asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of neighbourhood watch schemes which are active in the Dublin region; the location of each of these; the grants and resources his Department provides to neighbourhood watch in Dublin; the number of gardaí actively involved with the neighbourhood watch scheme; the plans he has to make changes to neighbourhood watch scheme in Dublin; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that due to lack of personnel, community gardaí are diverted from community policing into other areas of activity; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30153/00]

Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform (Mr. O'Donoghue)

I am informed by the Garda authorities that there are approximately 1,050 neighbourhood watch schemes in the Dublin metropolitan region. Due to the very high number of schemes it would not be practicable to provide a complete list in this reply. I will, however, forward these details to the Deputy in due course.

I am also informed that a total of 267 gardaí are appointed as liaison gardaí to neighbourhood watch schemes in the Dublin metropolitan region and that while members of community policing units may from time to time perform other duties, in the main they are employed in a community policing and crime prevention capacity.

I am conscious that there is now a need for some form of overarching structure to co-ordinate the entire neighbourhood watch operation on a national basis, and my Department has been considering how best to achieve this. This has necessitated careful consideration of the recommendations contained within the evaluation of neighbourhood watch and community alert which was commissioned by my Department.

I can inform the Deputy that I have already obtained Government approval to provide additional posts within the Garda Síochána at Inspector level and I am pleased to note that the Commissioner will assign one of these posts to work with the new structure.

I hope to be in a position to proceed with the establishment of a new structure to support and develop neighbourhood watch early in the new year.