The Government is set to introduce a uniformed warden service, run by local authorities, to assist gardai and police a wide range of local government regulations.
Three pilot schemes for the Community Warden Service could be in place by the end of the year. Questionnaires were sent out to a selection of city and county managers earlier this summer about the service, and their responses are due to be returned to the Department of the Environment by the start of next week.
The responses will be evaluated by a task force in the Department who will then decide how to implement the service.
It is expected two pilot schemes will be put in place in rural areas and one in an urban area, possibly before the end of the year. It is also expected the scheme could be introduced nation-wide within two to three years. It is thought there will initially be only some 300 community wardens, equipped with cars and mobile communications.
According to Government sources the scheme has the strong support of the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, and the Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey.
Government sources emphasised that the new service would not offer an alternative to the Garda, but would act purely in support of the force in respect of the policing of local government regulations.
Negotiations have taken place with the Department of Justice, which has responsibility for the Garda, and Garda management about the introduction and form of the new service.
It is known some senior gardai are suspicious that the new service is designed to provide an alternative policing service. There is also some concern that the credibility of the Garda Siochana as the State's only policing service was damaged in the eyes of Government as a result of the two "blue flu" days of industrial action last year in support of pay claims.
However, Government sources were quick to deny this, pointing out that there were references to a warden service to police local government regulations in both the Government's Action Programme for the Millennium, published just after the Government was formed in 1997.
The proposal is contained in a section on crime, stating: "To enable gardai to concentrate on crime control, a community warden service will be recruited by local authorities in order to relieve their workload."
There was also a reference to the service in Fianna Fail's local government elections manifesto earlier this year.
However, it is understood little action was taken on the 1997 Government programme until earlier this year when Mr Dempsey appointed a senior official in his Department to oversee the introduction of the scheme.
It is expected the service will have a variety of functions.
The wardens will, initially, not have authority to stop moving vehicles, but will absorb the present traffic warden role and be able to assist in traffic management. They will be expected to act as an "eyes and ears" service for the local authority, as in noting if there have been breaches of planning or litter laws.
The service will liase with community groups and provide a uniformed "visible presence" to help assure people, particularly those living in sheltered or other vulnerable forms of accommodation.
The wardens would not be able to police public order incidents, but it is expected that if they noticed unruly behaviour they would call gardai.
Community wardens would also be expected to police public parks and could, as in the case of St Stephen's Green, where there has been a recent increase in drugdealing at the main gates, monitor such activity and alert gardai.
They would also have a role under the 1993 Road Act to ensure people do not interfere with the public highway. They could stop or apprehend people illegally dumping rubbish or littering the highway.
The wardens would also monitor noise and other forms of environmental pollution.
Their traffic role would be limited to dealing with stationary vehicles as only the Garda has the authority to stop moving vehicles.
According to Government sources these functions would clearly assist gardai in releasing resources for anti-crime duties, and there would be emphasis on the two forces working in close co-operation. One of the guidelines says the service will be involved in enforcing existing local authority regulations and fostering relations with the Garda.
The wardens would also be expected to visit schools to give talks about local authority regulations, just as community gardai give talks on the law and role of the force. There could be higher levels of wardens in rural tourist areas where they could assist in monitoring camp sites and assisting visitors.
The outline mission statement for the community wardens was sent out to a number of county and city managers in June, and liaison has already taken place with other branches of local government, unions and senior gardai.
When the responses from the managers are received, the three "task forces" consisting of local government managers, assistant managers, personnel officers, unions and divisional Garda chiefs will be set up to oversee the implementation of the pilot schemes. Locations for these schemes have yet to be drawn up.
The initial staffing levels are understood to reflect a ratio of one warden per 20,000 of the population in urban areas and one per 10,000 in rural areas.