Plan identifies 5 priority areas relating to rural safety and outlines key actions underway to ensure safety in rural Ireland.
At the Ploughing Championships in Co. Laois, on Wednesday morning last, September 21st, 2022, the Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Mr James Browne, took the oppertunity to launch the ‘Rural Safety Plan’.
This plan brings together and strengthens all of the various strands of work being carried out in relation to rural safety. In demonstrating and highlighting the collaborative efforts made by An Garda Síochána, other State bodies, the Rural Safety Forum, community groups, and supported by the Government, the plan seeks to enhance security in our rural areas and enforces the importance that is rightfully placed on the welfare of rural Irish communities.
The vision of the Rural Safety Plan is for people and communities in rural Ireland to feel safe and be safe in their homes, their places of work, and their local environments.
This plan identifies 5 main priorities in relation to rural safety, which are: –
- Community Safety.
- Burglary and Theft.
- Roads Policing.
- Animal Crime.
- Heritage Crime.
The plan outlines the key actions underway in these priority areas in an informative and accessible way and also provides useful contacts for partner organisations, groups committed to supporting victims of crime, and organisations that share the Department of Justice’s aim of advancing the safety of our people.
Speaking at the launch on Wednesday, Minister Browne said:-
“I am delighted to be publishing the Rural Safety Plan today.
People and communities in rural Ireland deserve to feel safe and be safe. I recognise that rural safety isn’t just about the number of Garda but is a total Government responsibility.
That is why the Rural Safety Plan is the result of strong collaboration and brings together all of the excellent work already underway in relation to rural safety.
I want to recognise the wide-ranging and impactful work to further people’s safety and welfare, that is being undertaken in rural communities across the country. Much of this work is undertaken by dedicated volunteers who admirably commit so much of their time to the benefit of our communities and our country.
I wish to thank An Garda Síochána for their input to the Plan, and the National Rural Safety Forum for their support”.
Leave a Reply