Kildare's new community safety partnership to meet behind closed doors
Aras Cill Dara
A new Kildare committee designed to address community safety issues is set to meet for the first time this week in private.
The Kildare Local Community Safety Partnership (LCSP) is set to meet for the first time on Thursday 12 March at Aras Cill Dara, where the chair and vice chair will be elected.
The LCSP replaces the former joint policing committees that provided a forum on policing and crime issues.
According to Kildare County Council, the aim of the LCSP is “to bring together local councillors, An Garda Síochána, public services (e.g., HSE and Tusla), community and voluntary organisations, businesses, education, and local residents to coordinate practical responses to community safety issues.”
Katie Lane has been appointed programme co-ordinator. Ms Lane was also co-ordinator of the Brigid 1500 festival programme. Ms Lane along with the LCSP administrator, will be tasked with supporting the chair and vice-chair.
Kildare County Council say the forum will act as a forum to discuss and coordinate local community safety along with developing and adopting a three-year Local Community Safety Plan through public consultation.
The LCSP is required to hold a minimum of six meetings per year, with at least one public meeting. Media access to the LCSPs has proved a thorny issue nationally and according to the council it has already been decided that all but one of the meetings will be held in private this year.
The council said: “In line with the national guidelines for LCSP operation, there will be one public meeting in 2026 at which media may attend. A full schedule of meetings for 2026 will be published on our website in due course.”
They also said that a full press release will be issued following the first meeting which will provide “further detail and next steps”.
However, the national guidelines simply say that "consideration" should be given to holding meetings in private.
The guidelines state: '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)'
The guidelines continue: '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 (of the guidelines) 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.'
The chairperson of Mayo’s LCSP, as well as Minister O’Callaghan, had to deny recently that the group was instructed by the government to implement a media ban.
Despite the Kildare LCSP having not had its first meeting yet, its’ significance has already been felt. At the most recent meeting of Athy Municipal District, cllr Aoife Breslin requested that a local forum be re-established to address anti-social behaviour.
The council responded replied it did not support the establishment of the forum in light of the creation of the Kildare LCSP, as well as other formal processes and agencies that are already in place.
