Inaugural meeting of Meath Local Community Safety Partnership held

Noelle Finegan

Published: Mon 15 Dec 2025, 1:14 PM

The newly formed Meath Local Community Safety Partnership (LCSP) met for the first time at Meath County Council's Thrive Centre of Business Excellence in Navan last week, introducing a new, inter-agency effort aimed at identifying and prioritising community safety issues.

The new partnership is a collaboration between a range of stakeholders including Meath County Council, local councillors, An Garda Síochána, community representatives, business and education representative and statutory agencies including TUSLA and the HSE. It effectively replaces the previous Meath Joint Policing Committee which last met in 2024.

The objective of the LCSP is to bring the relevant bodies together with communities in a collaborative manner, by focusing on the concerns identified and prioritised by local people. The LCSP will be required to develop and implement its own tailored community safety plan and will take a strategic approach to their work so that issues arising can be dealt with in a coordinated manner; addressed collectively by relevant service providers in partnership with the community.

MCC Chief Executive Kieran Kehoe, Meath LCSP chairperson Ciaran Flynn and Chief Superintendent John Dollard.

Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration Jim O’Callaghan said: “I am extremely pleased that the Meath Local Community Safety Partnership has been established, and its first meeting has taken place. This marks another significant step on the rollout of these partnerships nationwide and this government’s new approach to community safety."

Chief Executive of Meath County Council Kieran Kehoe said: "The wonderfully collaborative approach of the LCSP in addition to prioritising the voices of local people will undoubtedly ensure a more strategic and effective tackling of community safety issues in the future."

At the inaugural meeting on 8th December, Community representatives Ciaran Flynn and Mary Weir were elected as the inaugural Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson respectively. Newly appointed chairperson Ciaran Flynn commented: "My ambition is to build a strong, consensus-driven Partnership that listens to people in every part of Meath and turns that into practical action. By drawing on the strengths of our local communities, Meath County Council, and our statutory services, I want this Partnership to help make the Royal County a safer, community-focused place to live, work, and raise a family.”