Who we are
The Policing and Community Safety Authority (PCSA) was established on 02 April 2025 as an independent, statutory agency responsible for the oversight of An Garda Síochána.
It is made up of an Authority a Chairperson and eight ordinary members, supported by an Executive team led by a Chief Executive. It is a successor organisation to the Policing Authority and Garda Síochána Inspectorate.
The core objective of the PCSA is to oversee and assess the performance of An Garda Síochána in providing policing services to communities across Ireland. It also oversees and assesses its work with partner organisations to ensure the safety of those communities. This is done through:
- Determining Policing Priorities for An Garda Síochána – areas that require extra focus or attention to improve the policing service delivered to the public;
- Assessing policing performance against these Priorities, An Garda Síochána’s Strategic Plan and Annual Service Plan, and the National Strategy for Community Safety;
- Undertaking inspections and making recommendations to improve policing services;
- Engaging with communities and stakeholders to listen to and understand experiences of policing and being policed;
- Promoting policing standards and the continuous improvement of policing, in line with international best practice and human rights standards;
- Promoting awareness and understanding of policing matters through publishing reports, holding events, and undertaking research; and,
- Informing and advising the Minister and other key stakeholders on policing matters.
Our first strategy
As a new organisation, we are in the process of developing our first strategy. This will set out how we will perform the above functions.
We are seeking your views on what this should look like. We have drafted a strategy for you to review and provide feedback on.
The draft is available here and you can provide feedback through this short survey until 02 November.