Vol. 509 No. 1
110 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if the shortage of technicians in the telecommunications section of An Garda Síochána for dealing with CCTV applications has been resolved; and if he is considering an application for the extension of CCTV to Navan, County Meath. [17308/99]
The telecommunications section in the Garda Síochána is responsible for the planning and implementation of town centre Garda CCTV systems. A shortage of technicians in the telecommunications section has impacted on the progress in implementing CCTV systems. I am having this problem addressed as a matter of urgency through the recruitment of 27 additional technicians. The recruitment process is now almost complete and 17 new technicians have been appointed. However, given training needs and so forth, it will, realistically, be some months before the new technicians will be available to commence work on new projects in the telecommunications area, including CCTV.
The advisory committee that was established by the Garda Commissioner to examine CCTV systems as an aid to policing and to evaluate each application has received in excess of 40 applications – including one from Navan – for the installation of Garda CCTV systems. Six locations have been prioritised for the installation of Garda CCTV systems as an aid to policing by the CCTV advisory committee. The list of locations, in alphabetical order, is as follows: Bray, Cork, Dublin south central, Dundalk, Finglas and Limerick. Currently the Cork city and Dublin south central Garda CCTV projects are being processed.
