Crime - Thurles Information

Landmark Policing, Security & Community Safety Bill 2023 Begins Its Legislative Journey.

This Bill has four main objectives:

Making the prevention of harm and protection of people, who are vulnerable or at risk, an objective of An Garda Síochána and making the safety of communities a ‘whole of government responsibility‘.
Strengthening and consolidating independent, external oversight of An Garda Síochána.
Enhancing the internal governance of An Garda Síochána and the role of the Garda Commissioner as Chief Executive Officer [CEO or highest-ranking officer].
Improving the independent oversight of our national security infrastructure.

The Minister for Justice, Mr Simon Harris TD, is pleased to announce that the landmark ‘Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill 2023’ is being debated at Second Stage in Dáil Éireann today, marking the beginning of its legislative journey. The Minister of State with responsibility for Law Reform and Youth Justice, James Browne TD, introduced the Bill to the Dáil today on the Minister’s behalf.

The Bill will deliver on many recommendations made by the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland (CoFPI), marking a new departure for policing in Ireland. It provides a comprehensive and robust framework of accountability, governance and oversight of policing and security and a new approach to community safety, focused on the need for collaboration and co-ordination between various State agencies.

Speaking today, Minister Harris said: “This landmark Bill provides a new framework for policing, security and community safety in Ireland; as recommended by the Commission on the Future of Policing.

It has been developed following extensive consultation with key stakeholders, including An Garda Síochána and the policing oversight bodies, and takes into account the recommendations made by the Justice Committee in its Pre-Legislative Scrutiny Report and the submissions that were made by a range of contributors during that process.

An Garda Síochána play a frontline role in preventing and addressing crime, but the sometimes more unrecognised element of their work is the role they play in preventing harm in communities, particularly harm to vulnerable people; including those suffering from acute mental health issues, addiction issues and homelessness.

Building safer and stronger communities by preventing crime and preventing harm is not and cannot be the responsibility of An Garda Síochána alone. It is a shared responsibility across Government, and it requires the buy-in and collaboration of other Departments and agencies such as health and social services, local authorities and the wider community working together to really effect change. So while this Bill will make the prevention of harm a clear objective of An Garda Síochána, it will also set in statute the cross-Government responsibility for community safety.

The Bill introduces a package of measures to ensure that the oversight framework for policing is coherent; supporting clear and effective accountability and ultimately better policing. It provides for the establishment of a new Policing and Community Safety Authority which will merge the existing broad – ranging functions of the Policing Authority and the inspection function of the Garda Síochána Inspectorate, building on their good work to date.

The Bill also provides for reformed processes and procedures for the handling and investigation of allegations of Garda wrongdoing in a new Office of the Police Ombudsman, which will strengthen the mandate of the existing Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission.

We are also strengthening internal governance by establishing a new non-executive Board of An Garda Síochána. The Board will oversee the strategic direction of the organisation including the development of the capacity, capability and optimum use of resources and ensuring compliance with An Garda Síochána’s public sector duty under human rights and equality legislation. The Board will also oversee arrangements for managing the performance of the Garda Commissioner. However, the Board’s role will not extend to operational policing or security matters which remain within the remit and functional independence of the Garda Commissioner.
Finally, the Bill will improve the oversight of national security arrangements in the State through the establishment of an Independent Examiner of security legislation.
This was a key recommendation of the Commission’s report, which recognised that responsibility for the security of the State did not rest solely in An Garda Síochána, and is modelled to a large extent on similar oversight mechanisms internationally.
I look forward to working with all colleagues in the House to enact this important legislation this year, with a view to having it commenced in January 2024.”

When enacted, the Bill will repeal the Garda Síochána Act 2005 (as amended) in its entirety.

Implementation of the Bill is progressing in parallel with its legislative journey. The Department is already engaged in planning and coordinating this vital work, in conjunction with our Agency partners, so that the provisions and the new bodies can be put in place promptly on the Bill’s commencement.

Contractor Fined €1,000 For Harvesting Turf In Protected Bog On Tipperary Border.

A case before Nenagh District Court, Co Tipperary on February 9th 2023 last, heard that turf was being extracted from a Natural Heritage Area containing a raised bog, without ministerial consent, contrary to Section 19 of the Wildlife Amendment Act 2000. The bog, situated at Monaincha & Ballaghmore, 6 km east of Roscrea, North Tipperary, spans the border of counties Tipperary and Laois.

The site is regarded as being of considerable conservation significance, and a rare habitat within the European Union. Same sites are becoming increasingly scarce and under threat here in Ireland.

The accused, named as Mr Pat McEvoy, aged 51, with an address at Blackbull, Birr, Co Offaly, had pleaded guilty to the offence and Judge Elizabeth McGrath imposed a fine of €1,000.

Evidence was provided before to the court by a National Parks and Wildlife Service Divisional Manager, latter who confirmed that the site had been designated as a Natural Heritage Area back in 2005, due to its unique raised bog microhabitat and large soak system.

He further confirmed that turf could only be harvested in the Natural Heritage Area with Ministerial consent and no such consent had been issued or requested.

On May 11th, 2020, as part of a surveillance operation in the afore mentioned area; together with a Wildlife Service colleague, the Divisional Manager had entered the bog at 7:30am and witnessed the extraction and spreading of peat on the protected site. When the machines began to leave the site, the accused involved, was approached. Mr McEvoy refused initially to identify himself, but subsequently did so, to a member of An Garda Síochána, who arrived shortly afterwards

Ignorantia juris non excusat. – Ignorance of the law is no excuse.

Judge Elizabeth McGrath, imposing a €1,000 fine, stated that she did not accept the defence that Mr McEvoy was unaware that the site was protected, adding that as a turf contractor involved in the turf trade for some years, it was his business to know the whereabouts of legally protected raised bog sites.

Callous Raiders Drown Two Dogs In Tipperary Burglary.

On Saturday evening last, (February 11th, 2023), a house, located in the Castleview estate area of Ardfinnan, in South Tipperary, (close to the border with Waterford), was targeted in a burglary.

The home owner on returning home found two dogs; latter protecting the house, drowned in a barrel of water in the back yard of their dwelling.
Having killed the animals, the thugs escaped with an amount of cash and valuables, valued at some €9,000, having completely ransacked the house.
Nobody was at home in the house at the time of the callous incident.

Investigating Gardaí believe the burglars gained access to the house, using a key which was hidden in a shed.

No arrests, as yet, have been made, and investigations are continuing.

Diamorphine, Street Value €14,000, Seized At Thurles Railway Station.

Gardaí attached to Unit D Thurles, whilst carrying out patrols at Thurles Railway Station this evening, encountered a male acting suspiciously in the area.

**Picture courtesy of An Garda Síochána**.

The male was subsequently searched under the Misuse of Drugs Act and a large quantity of suspected Diamorphine, with an estimated street value of €14,000 was located and seized.
The male was arrested and detained at Thurles Garda Station, with file being prepared for the DPP.

Diamorphine, also known under its old brand name ‘Heroin’, is a potent opioid, mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effect. Same is a Schedule 1 drug, meaning it is subject to the highest degree of control and classified as a prohibited controlled substance in the Republic of Ireland.
The substance remains the most commonly encountered opioid in Ireland and throughout the European Union.

Gardaí To Host Property Marking Event In Hollyford, Tipperary.

Tipperary Town Gardaí will host a property marking event in Hollyford Village, Co. Tipperary, on Thursday next, February 16th, between 11:00am and 2:00pm.

NOTE: Persons attending, wishing to have property marked on the day, are asked to please ensure they have their Eircode with them.

The machine can mark car trailers, chainsaws, and many other pieces of machinery found attractive to those persons with uncontrollable ‘sticky fingers’.

Property theft remains one of the biggest security challenges facing Ireland today. Every year within every community in Ireland, households and small businesses experience the trauma of being the victim of such thefts and every year hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of stolen property continues to be recovered from criminals. Alas, all too often there is no way of identifying the rightful owner of such property.

What is Property Marking:

Property Marking involves a community led crime prevention program run in partnership with the county-based Joint Policing Committees, Local Authorities and community organisations, particularly Community Alert and Neighbourhood Watch groups.
This approach has already been tested in a number of counties in Ireland and has been found to be extremely successful.

The program involves marking property with the owner’s Eircode number, which is a unique identifier. The mark that is made on the property is a physical mark which is etched into the property. It is very difficult to remove and can be repeated a number of times on the one item.

The mark is made by a specially designed machine which embosses the property item with small dots in the pattern of your Eircode.