Vol. 489 No. 6
597 Mr. Barrett asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the reason for the delay in installing CCTV security cameras in Dún Laoghaire, County Dublin in view of the fact that his predecessor approved the scheme approximately 12 months ago. [8760/98]
While an application for a Garda CCTV scheme for Dún Laoghaire was received I understand that no decision was taken on the proposal and it was referred to the advisory committee established by the Garda Commissioner to examine the future of CCTV systems as an aid to policing. While their main objective is to evaluate the potential crime prevention capacity of each of the applications received, they are also required to evaluate each application from a technical and telecommunications perspective while also taking into consideration the level of finance available from my Department and from local business/community sources.
I understand that, in all, the advisory committee has received 25 applications for the installation of Garda CCTV systems. This includes full and comprehensive proposals which were submitted in respect of eight locations. Each of the applications will be prioritised with regard to the respective levels of crime in the locations in question and the likely impact of a Garda CCTV system on same.
To date six locations have been prioritised for the installation of Garda CCTV systems. The are as follows: Bray, Cork, Dublin (South Central), Dundalk, Finglas and Limerick.
Dún Laoghaire is among the remaining applications on hands which are still under consideration by the committee. It is anticipated that further systems will be scheduled in due course as resources permit. I must emphasise that the resources required to finalise existing schemes and to start work on the new schemes already prioritised by the advisory committee, limits the scope for the extension of Garda CCTV systems to other areas at the present time.
