Loftus calls for JPCs to be retained in Seanad address

THE Cathaoirleach of Mayo County Council has called on Seanad Éireann to ensure that county councillors remain a part of new for a set to replace Joint Policing Committees (JPCs).

A number of elected representatives from Mayo County Council and Dáil Éireann sit on the existing Mayo JPC, which gives politicians a forum to ask questions of senior gardaí.

Cllr Michael Loftus called for the committees to be kept in place to ensure that communities would be represented.

In an address to the upper house, Cllr Loftus said he had ‘a serious problem’ with the Policing Security and Community Bill.

Part 3 of the bill seeks to replace JPCs with so-called ‘local community safety partnerships’.

These partnerships will be comprised of various groups; including residents, community representative organisations, older people, minority communities, business and education representatives.

Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee, TD, recently told the Seanad that local county councillors ‘will remain a very important part of the make-up of these new fora’.

The bill has been passed by Dáil Éireann currently at committee stage in Seanad Éireann.

Speaking as part of a Mayo County Council delegation which attended a Seanad hearing on the future of local democracy in Ireland, Cllr Loftus said he was ‘very disappointed with our Oireachtas members who have passed the policing, security and community bill without even looking at it’.

“Now the JPCs are where councillors are representing our community with An Garda Síochána. With this new local community and safety partnership councillors are being taken off that JPC. It’s now going to be abolished,” said the Crossmolina-based representative.

“I have a serious problem with that and we in the west of Ireland and in Mayo would have a serious problem about that.”

The Fianna Fáil councillor then called on senators to amend the bill to allow for the retention of county councillors on JPCs.

“Really, I want to represent my community, I feel I’m an elected member by the community and my other council colleagues here would be elected by the community to represent them. I’d like to see that bill altered or changed to allow the JPCS to be continued,” he said.

The next JPC meeting in Mayo is due to take place tomorrow, Friday, December 1 at Áras an Chontae in Castlebar.