The first Sinn Féin politician to take an official role in policing tonight confirmed he was breaking new ground for the party.
Dublin city councillor Larry O'Toole, a candidate in the forthcoming general election, said he took up the position in the city's embryonic policing partnership to ensure accountability.
But the vice-chair of the Dublin City Joint Policing Committee insisted his appointment should not be taken as an indication of the party's position on the PSNI.
Despite the intense focus on Sinn Féin's relationship with the police in Northern Ireland, its new departure in the Republic has gone virtually unnoticed.
"I am breaking ground," said Mr O'Toole, "I want to be doing what we're doing here because to get accountability we need to be involved with this."
"But policing in the six counties is an entirely different matter. There may be issues about policing in the south but they are issues that can be dealt with." It is the first time in the history of the state that a relationship between the Garda and local authorities has been placed on a statutory footing. The Dublin North East councillor and his son both survived a gun attack on them during a First Communion ceremony at a church in the city in 1998. He has demanded gun crime be placed high on the agenda of the new policing partnership.
The Policing Committee is one of the first of 22 pilot partnerships being rolled out across the State at a cost of €600,000. PA