Justice Committee to discuss Pre-legislative scrutiny of the Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill 2021

The meeting at 5:30 pm will be broadcast from Committee Room 1 of Leinster House.

The Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill 2021 will:

• make the prevention of harm and protection of people who are vulnerable or at risk an objective of An Garda Síochána and make the safety of communities a “whole of government” responsibility
• strengthen and consolidate independent, external oversight of An Garda Síochána
• enhance the internal governance of An Garda Síochána and the role of the Garda Commissioner as CEO
• improve the independent oversight of Irelands national security infrastructure

Committee Cathaoirleach Deputy James Lawless said: “Tomorrow’s discussion on the Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of this very important piece of draft legislation is vital.  We will hear from the Garda Commissioner and representatives from The Garda Inspectorate, Irish Council for Civil Liberties, The Policing Authority and Officials from the Department of Justice.”

The Cathaoirleach continued: “The meeting will focus on key fundamentals of the Bill including discussions around making community safety a “whole of government responsibility”; stronger independent, external oversight of An Garda Síochána; strengthening internal governance of An Garda Síochána; and improving the oversight of our national security infrastructure. The Committee and I welcome robust conversations around these topics with the representative’s and officials.”

The Cathaoirleach concluded: “Given the level of interest in the topic, and the complexity of the proposed legislation, we have allocated two sessions to consider the bill and draw feedback from a wide range of stakeholders.”

The Joint Committee on Justice has 14 Members, nine from the Dáil and five from the Seanad.

You can view the meeting in Committee Room 3 on the Oireachtas website.

More information can be found on the dedicated Committee Webpage. Committee proceedings can also be viewed on the Houses of the Oireachtas Smartphone App, available for Apple and Android devices.