Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 10 Oct 2000

Vol. 523 No. 4

Written Answers. - Closed Circuit Television Systems.

John McGuinness

Question:

209 Mr. McGuinness asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he is in receipt of an application from Kilkenny Corporation for funding to assist in the provision of a closed circuit television system for Kilkenny city; and when a decision is likely in this regard. [21313/00]

Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform (Mr. O'Donoghue)

Applications for Garda CCTV systems must be prepared in co-operation with the local Garda district and divisional officers and receive their full support. Applications may then be considered by the advisory committee that was established by the Garda Commissioner to evaluate CCTV applications, who will make a recommendation to me in this regard. While no formal application has been received to date for Kilkenny city, I can confirm that I have received correspondence from Kilkenny Corporation regarding a CCTV system for the city.

To date, the advisory committee has received in excess of 40 applications for Garda CCTV systems as aids to policing. Six locations have been prioritised for the installation of such systems. These are, in alphabetical order, Bray, Cork, Dublin south central, Dundalk, Finglas and Limerick. The extension of the Garda CCTV system in Dublin south central to include Grafton Street and its surrounding areas and the installation of a CCTV system in Cork city are the CCTV projects currently being undertaken. The remaining applications are under consideration.

Some delays have been encountered in progressing various CCTV projects due, in part, to the fact that the demand from various communities for CCTV systems has been very significant. A shortage of technicians in the telecommunications section of the Garda Síochána has also 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.