Justice Committee Begins Scrutiny Of Policing, Security & Community Safety Bill Today.

Wednesday, 20 October 2021 07:10

Kildare North TD, James Lawless, chairs the committee.

The Joint Committee on Justice will meet with to begin pre-legislative scrutiny of the general scheme of the Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill 2021, today, in the first of two sessions.

Kildare North Fianna Fáil TD, James Lawless, is chair of the committee.

The Garda Commissioner and representatives from The Garda Inspectorate, Irish Council for Civil Liberties, The Policing Authority and Officials from the Department of Justice will be in attendance.

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 says “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.”