“Complete disconnect” - Laois representative slams rules around new crime committees

Excluding Laois TDs and local reporters from new committees to oversee policing in Laois and other counties will create a “complete disconnect” between the forum and the Dáil, according to a local TD.

Deputy Brian Stanley is severely critical of the make up and structures of Local Community Safety Partnerships, (LCSP), whichi will replace the Joint Policing Committees. With just weeks before the Laois committee is due to be operational it's emerged that no TDs will have access while local media be restricted and possibly excluded.

The exclusing of TDs from the new fora was confirmed to in the Dáil to Dep Stanley by the Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan. All partnerships will be in place by the end of 2026 and have hosted their first meetings in the coming weeks.

“At the last Laois JPC, at least there was good attendance from the TDs. I think it is important,” said Dep Stanley told the Leinster Express / Laois Live.

“We represent the constituency and yet we are being omitted from it. It creates a complete disconnect in terms of connecting up the line and into the Dáil,” he said.

The new committee will involve local councillors, Gardaí, community representatives, business and education representatives, and a range of statutory agencies, including Laois County Council, the HSE, Tusla. The Laois Public Participation Network (PPN) is seeking nominations for Laois PPN Reps from the hundreds of groups affiliated to the network.

The Leinster Express / Laois Live understands that it's envisaged that the Laois committee will meet in public just once a year while a lot of work will be delegated to sub-committees.

Dep Stanley said that people attend his constituency office every week with issues relating to crime and security.

“There will be people on them (Safety Partnerships) who are not elected to anything; that’s fine but Laois people expect us to deal with these matters,” said Dep Stanley.

Dep Stanley said he attended nearly every JPC meeting while he added that Seán Fleming was also present at many.

“On a number of occasions, there was stuff coming up at the Joint Policing Committee and I would volunteer to take it up at Dail level,” he recalled.

He was also very unhappy about plans to restrict media access to the new Partnerships, as has been flagged by the National Union of Journalists (NUJ).

“This is something that should have been debated in the Dáil,” said Dep Stanley.

He said if there was a particularly sensitive subject a local representative needed to raise, the forum afforded local representatives the opportunity to raise such matters with the local Chief Superintendent privately at the beginning or end of the meeting.

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The NUJ has called on Minister O'Callaghan to urgently amend the guidelines published for the recently established Local Community Safety Partnerships, which allow the new local committees to meet in secret.

It said the guidelines make media attendance discretionary and recommend that in the first year of the new structure three of the six scheduled meetings of the 36 partnerships should be held in private.

In launching the Local Community Safety Partnerships earlier this year Mr O’Callaghan said the new structures would operate “transparently and efficiently,” describing the Partnership as “a much more collaborative, responsive, and locally driven approach to community safety.”

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Irish Secretary, National Union of Journalists, Séamus Dooley, has written to Mr O’Callaghan requesting an urgent amendment to the guidelines, describing them as being in complete conflict with the principles outlined by the Minister and directly contrary to media policies being supported by the government.

“Secrecy was for many years the hallmark of local government in Ireland. It beggars belief that an initiative hailed as ‘a fresh approach’ should seek to restrict media access to such a vital community forum, allegedly in the name of developing trust among the partnership members.

"This is not a fresh approach but is instead a return to an old fashioned ‘Yes Minister’ view of public administration favoured by Jim Hacker rather than the open approach promised by Minister O’Callaghan,” said Mr Dooley.

He noted the Joint Policing Committees were open to the media.

“The new committees involved public bodies such as HSE, the child and family agency Tusla and local authorities and have a much broader remit. For these reasons the NUJ believes the discretion allowed to committees to exclude the media is of particular concern.

“There should be a presumption that meetings will be held in public. If there needs to be a private session to discuss matters of particular sensitivity standing orders could allow this, as happen at local authorities and Oireachtas committees,” he added.

Mr Dooley said the relevant section of the Guidelines, 10.4 only allows for the possibility of media attendance and makes provision for the publication of a subsequent agreed report of the private proceedings.

"It is difficult to see how this level of secrecy can be justified," he said.

Recommendation 10.4. of the guidelines state: "Media Attendance Local Community Safety Partnerships may facilitate attendance by the media at their discretion and via request to the chair. In the first year of the partnership, to allow for relationships and trust to develop, and as the Safety Partnership is developing its workplan, consideration should be given to limiting media attendance to public meeting(s) This approach to be reviewed as the partnership’s work evolves.

At this point the Safety Partnership may also consider achieving a balance whereby three meetings allow media attendance whilst three are held in private. Transparency and accountability to the general public and media are an important factor of the Safety Partnership’s work. As per section 9.6 an agreed report of a closed meeting must be made available. Safety Partnerships could consider, as part of their communication strategy, sharing such reports directly with local media."

Mr Dooley pointed to the contradiction in the approach of government to local democracy.

 "The irony is that this government, through Coimisiún na Meán is providing very welcome funding for coverage through local democracy reporter schemes. Coverage of local government is vital in a healthy democracy, and these schemes recognise the value of transparency in public administration.

"The NUJ was instrumental in seeking such assistance and has long been concerned at the failure of some media organisations to devote resources to local and regional government. Ironically this issue was highlighted in The Journal by a reporter supported by the Local Democracy scheme," he said.