Helen McEntee says Dublin’s new ‘community wardens’ will not perform role of gardaí

Minister for Justice Helen McEntee has said that community wardens, being deployed in Dublin city, will not be taking on the duties of gardaí.

“The community safety wardens engage with people in the area. They engage with people who might be hanging around. They engage with business members to identify what is going on. They engage with younger people,” she told Newstalk Breakfast.

“Their role is not to go up where an incident is happening or to intervene. Their role is to engage with people in the area, to observe what is happening and to become known in the area. Over time being able to engage with younger people. It is about understanding what is going on in the area and what more is needed. If something arises, they can alert the guards. We are not asking people to take up the role of the garda,” she said.

Minister McEntee said that the Local Community Safety Plan for Dublin’s north inner city has been worked on for over a year now.

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“It is actually the community themselves who have come together to identify what it is that they need and what it is they want for their community. There are about 51 different actions spread across five different areas that they again decided that they needed and wanted worked on,” she said.

Minister McEntee said a mobile health unit had also been set up and that funding had been set aside for the plan, which she said was similar to a scheme set up in Drogheda, Co Louth that was “driven by the community”. She said Dublin City Council was also looking at improving the appearance of streets, including increased lighting and rubbish collection.

“[In Drogheda] we have invested in everything from childcare to various different levels of education from primary, secondary and right up. You have investments in the various different drug facilities, family support facilities,” she said.

“There is no specific amount of funding because some of this work does not require funding. Some of this work is minimal amount of funding.”

She added that the role of gardaí remains “hugely important” and promised “increased visibility” and “targeted operations, working closely with the business community and community groups”.