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Commission on the Future of Policing Membership

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 22 October 2019

Tuesday, 22 October 2019

Ceisteanna (95, 96)

Jim O'Callaghan

Ceist:

95. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Taoiseach the members of the implementation group on policing reform; and the role of each on the group. [43249/19]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Jim O'Callaghan

Ceist:

96. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Taoiseach the level of involvement and engagement by his officials with the implementation group on policing reform. [43250/19]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

I propose to take Questions Nos. 95 and 96 together.

The Future of Policing in Ireland – the Report of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland (CoFPI) which was published in September 2018 – recommended (in Chapter 26) the establishment of an Implementation Group on Policing Reform to ensure delivery of the reform programme set out in the CoFPI Report.

The Implementation Group on Policing Reform (IGPR) was therefore established to oversee and drive delivery of ‘A Policing Service for the Future’ – the 4-year plan (2019-2022) to implement the CoFPI Report which was approved by Government in December 2018. The IGPR have collective responsibility for the delivery of the outcomes in ‘A Policing Service for the Future’, and contribute to progress reports generated by the Policing Reform Implementation Programme Office. In addition, individual members of the Group act as programme managers driving delivery, managing risk and reporting on achievement of recommendations applying in their respective organisations and agencies, and participate in sub-groups, where necessary, to focus on discreet, high-impact actions and where co-ordinated activity is required across departments and agencies to support implementation.

The IGPR meets on a monthly basis (most recently on 8 October 2019). In line with the CoFPI recommendation, the IGPR has an independent Chair – Helen Ryan, former member of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland – and its core membership comprises of senior officials from An Garda Síochána; the Department of Justice and Equality; the Department of the Taoiseach; and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. Senior representatives of other relevant Departments are also invited to attend meetings of the IGPR on a quarterly basis; namely, the Department of Health, the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection, the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment, the Department of Defence, and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

A High Level Steering Board (HLSB) on Policing Reform, chaired by the Secretary General of the Department of the Taoiseach, meets regularly (most recently on 5 September 2019) to support and guide the work of the IGPR, and act as a clearing house for issues that cannot be resolved by the IGPR, or where particular blockages are being experienced in the implementation of the Plan. The Chair of the IGPR is a member of the HLSB along with the Commissioner of An Garda Síochána and Secretaries General from the following Departments: Department of Justice and Equality, Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, Department of Health, Department of Children and Youth Affairs, Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection, Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Department of Defence, and Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

The Policing Reform Implementation Programme Office, based in the Department of the Taoiseach, supports the work of both the IGPR and the HLSB and reports on the delivery of the Plan to the Cabinet Committee on Security which provides political oversight over, inter alia, the policing reform programme.

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