Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 9 March 2004
392 Mr. Wall asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of applications for the provision of the CCTV scheme he has received from Kildare County Council; the position of such applications received; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7840/04]
View answerI have been informed by the Garda authorities that the CCTV advisory committee has not received any application for the installation of a CCTV system from Kildare County Council. Should an application be received, the committee will decide on this application and make a recommendation to the commissioner who in turn will make his recommendation known to myself.
Applications for Garda CCTV systems are assessed by the advisory committee on the basis of Garda operational needs and include the following criteria: crime/public order statistics in the area; population and level of activity in the area; the recommendation of local Garda management; any special circumstances or needs that exist in the area; the likely impact of a Garda CCTV system in the area.
393 Mr. Wall asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the position in regard to the installation of CCTV schemes in local authority areas; the funding of such schemes vis-à-vis his Department, local authority contributions and private sector contributions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7841/04]
View answerA total of 17 locations are set to receive new Garda CCTV systems subject, of course, to the availability of funds. These locations are, in alphabetical order: Athlone, Ballyfermot, Bray, Carlow, Castlebar, Clondalkin, Clonmel, Dundalk, Dún Laoghaire, Ennis, Finglas, Galway, Kilkenny, Limerick, Sligo, Tallaght and Waterford.
Applications for Garda CCTV systems are assessed by the advisory committee, which was established by the Garda Commissioner to advise on all matters regarding CCTV systems, on the basis of Garda operational needs and include the following criteria: crime/public order statistics in the area; population and level of activity there; the recommendation of local Garda management; any special circumstances or needs that exist and the likely impact of a Garda CCTV system in the area. Co-funding is also a feature of Garda CCTV systems and this is usually addressed when it has been decided to install a Garda CCTV system in an area.
All applications for Garda CCTV systems must be prepared in co-operation with the local Garda district and divisional officers and receive their support. Applications will normally have been made as a result of representations from groups forming residential, commercial and local government interests and would be expected to contain the location and scope of the cameras required.
Some applications for CCTV systems received by the CCTV advisory committee relate to relatively small schemes which, while of importance to the local community, cannot be regarded as a national Garda priority. To this end, a grant-aid scheme has been launched to facilitate community based groups who wish to install their own local CCTV system. Grant assistance of up to €100,000 will, subject to the availability of funds, be obtainable from my Department towards the cost of such schemes. It will be up to the community groups, in conjunction with the relevant local authority, to install, maintain and monitor the community based CCTV schemes. While it will be up to the local interests to install and monitor the CCTV schemes, grant assistance will be provided. To qualify for grant aid, certain minimum standards will have to be met and the gardaí will have to be allowed access to the system when and as they require it.
The Department has received a significant number of expressions of interest — in excess of 200 — in the community based CCTV scheme. An application prospectus has been prepared by the Department which provides information on how to apply for grant-aid funding, outlines the application process and identifies the main issues that applicants will need to consider. Copies of this prospectus are available on request from my Department's Garda administration division. A code of practice, drawn up in co-operation with the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner, and detailed technical specifications, drawn up by the Garda Síochána, are almost complete. When both the code of practice and the technical specifications have been finalised, my Department will issue copies of same to all communities who expressed an interest in the community based CCTV scheme and any applications subsequently received will be evaluated and processed.
