The Deputy is referring to a review group on public safety which was established in November 1999. The group comprised representatives from Departments, various agencies and bodies. Its report entitled, A Review of Public Safety in Ireland, was published in December 2000. One of the recommendations of the review group was that an office of public safety regulation should be considered, which would not itself be responsible for public safety issues but would have some form of overseeing role of all the agencies and bodies involved. The review group also proposed that the functioning, appropriateness and continuing need for such an office should be reviewed within a five year period. This in itself questions the need for such an office in the first instance. I am convinced that the establishment of yet another State agency, whose function is merely to oversee public safety matters, is not the right way forward.
The group was not in full agreement on its proposal due to issues relating to duplication of existing services and additional cost. Some Department representatives expressed reservations about the need for such an office and the extra burden on State finances. Quite clearly, a clear-cut case has not been made nor a properly defined role set out for the establishment of such an office.