CORK County Local Community Safety Partnership (CCLCSP) held its second statutory meeting in Cork County Hall earlier this month, but the media and the general public won’t be able to attend its first public meeting until Autumn.

There has been criticism from several quarters including Local Ireland, the association representing regional news publishers, of the fact that the media weren’t allowed to attend the first CCLCSP meeting earlier this year or the one earlier this month.

The LCSPs are replacing the former Joint Policing Committees (JPC) where crime stats and other business was held in a open forum where media were allowed attend and were last held January 22nd 2024, over two years ago.

LCSPs must meet at least six times a year, including one public meeting and while they are hosted by local authorities, they are not a committee of the council.

A council spokesperson said the CCLCSP will hold its first public meeting this autumn, which will be open to the media as well as members of the public.

A Department of Justice spokesperson previously told The Southern Star that the guidance provides that Safety Partnerships can facilitate media attendance at meetings at their discretion and by way of a request to the chair.

They added that some meetings will be held in private ‘to allow for relationship building and early trust to develop among members and as works plans are being agreed and developed.’

Bob Hughes, chief executive director of Local Ireland has said that any decision to limit media access ‘flies in the face of government supports for local democracy reporting’.

The most recent CCLSP meeting held in the council chamber of County Hall was attended by councillors, representatives of the HSE, members of An Garda Síochána among others and representatives of local residents from across the county through the Cork County Public Participation Network (PPN).

It also included representatives from Cork County Older People’s Council, Muintir na Tíre and the IFA.