The public is to have a say in a forum on crime which will form the basis for a permanent National Crime Council. Groups and individuals with an opinion on crime policy are being asked to submit their views to next month's forum. The National Crime Forum, organised by the Department of Justice, will sit on February 26th in Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin. It is planned that it will sit there every Thursday and Friday for six weeks and may then move to other towns and cities.
The deadline for written submissions is January 24th. A number of groups and individuals will be asked to present their submissions to the forum. Prof Bryan McMahon, professor of common law at UCG, has been nominated as the forum chairman.
The Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, has said the forum will lead to a permanent National Crime Council and form the basis of a White Paper later this year.