Brian O'Shea
Question:893 Mr. O'Shea asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the plans, if any, he has to install closed circuit television in the Waterford constituency; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19705/00]
Written Answers. - Closed Circuit Television Systems.
The advisory committee that was established by the Garda Commissioner to evaluate applications for Garda CCTV systems has, to date, received in excess of 40 applications – including one from Waterford – for CCTV systems, as aids to policing. The application from Waterford is currently under consideration – as indeed are applications from other cities and towns. Delays have been encountered in progressing various CCTV projects while the demand from various communities for CCTV systems has been very significant. A shortage of technicians in the telecommunications section of An Garda Síochána has impacted on the progress in implementing CCTV systems. Notwithstanding this, it also became evident that the existing approach to CCTV could not cope with the demand and a review of all aspects of CCTV was required. I therefore decided to initiate a review of CCTV and asked the Garda Commissioner to look at this whole area. The review is now complete and I expect to make a statement on CCTV in the near future.