The Garda Síochána Act 2005 provides that a local authority and the Garda Commissioner shall arrange for the establishment of a joint policing committee in accordance with guidelines issued by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, after consulting with the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs. A committee's function will be to serve as a forum for consultations, discussions and recommendations on matters affecting the policing of the local authority's administrative area. As part of its function, it will establish, in consultation with the local Garda superintendent, as the committee considers necessary within specific neighbourhoods of the area, local policing fora to discuss and make recommendations to the committee concerning matters that it is to keep under review or on which it is to advise, in so far as those matters affect their neighbourhoods.
I have accepted the recommendation of the Garda Act implementation review group, which was chaired by Senator Maurice Hayes, that the operation of the committees should commence in a number of pilot local authority areas, before extending them to all areas. Draft guidelines to enable these committees to be established have been prepared by a working group and, as provided for by the Act, I will shortly be consulting with my colleagues the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs before issuing them. Following the consultation, I expect the guidelines to be issued and the pilot committees to be established shortly.
