Closed-Circuit Television Systems

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 10 November 2020

Tuesday, 10 November 2020

Ceisteanna (620)

Patrick Costello

Ceist:

620. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Justice the number of Garda CCTV cameras located in each location in tabular form; if all cameras are currently working in full order; and if all Garda CCTV cameras are monitored on a 24/7 basis. [34962/20]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Justice

The Deputy will appreciate that the Garda Commissioner is responsible for managing and controlling generally the administration and business of An Garda Síochána, and I, as Minister, have no direct role in the matter.

I have requested information from the Garda Commissioner in relation to this matter but it was unfortunately not possible to compile it in the time available.

I will write to the Deputy directly with the information requested, when it is available.

The following deferred reply was received under Standing Order 51

I refer to Parliamentary Question Number 620 for answer on 10 November 2020, in which you requested the number of Garda CCTV cameras situated in each location in tabular form; if all cameras are currently working in full order; and if all Garda CCTV cameras are monitored on a 24/7 basis. You will recall that it was not possible to obtain the information in the time available and Minister McEntee undertook to consult with An Garda Síochána and contact you again when the information was available. I regret the delay in responding to you.

As you are aware, the Garda Commissioner is responsible, by law, for the management and administration of An Garda Síochána including Garda CCTV. I, as Minister, have no role in these operational matters.

The Garda Commissioner authorises CCTV for the purposes of securing public order and safety in public places by facilitating the deterrence, prevention, detection and prosecution of offences under Section 38 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005.

The Commissioner authorises CCTV for the following categories of persons:

(a) (a) members of the Garda Síochána;

(b) (b) persons who meet the established criteria and who are retained under a contract with the Garda Commissioner;

(c) (c) persons who meet the established criteria and whose application for authorisation in respect of a specified area within the administrative area of a local authority has been approved by the local authority after consulting with the joint policing committee for that administrative area.

The list appended to this letter outlines the forty seven schemes that have received such authorisation from the Garda Commissioner under Section 38(3)(a) of the 2005 Act – these are all Garda CCTV Schemes. Where a location appears more than once, such reappearance relates to a new authorisation, or an authorisation for additional cameras within an existing scheme.

Of all the Garda operated CCTV schemes listed in the appendix, five are not monitored by personnel on a twenty-four hour basis. However, these schemes, and others, are recorded for later retrieval if required. In addition, fifty-two cameras across fifteen CCTV schemes are faulty at present. For operational reasons the identification of the specific locations covered by this part of the answer are not being released.

I trust this information is of assistance.

Appendix

CCTV schemes authorised under Section 38 (3) (a) Garda Síochána Act 2005

	List of Sec 38 (3) (a) AGS 2005 Schemes	Division		Number of Locations (L) and/or Cameras (C) as recorded on authorisation
	List of Sec 38 (3) (a) AGS 2005 Schemes	Division		Number of Locations (L) and/or Cameras (C) as recorded on authorisation
1	Castlebar	Castlebar		24 C
2	Ennis	Clare	20 L	20 C
3	Anglesea Street (Cork City)	Cork City		30 C
4	Hollyhill	Cork City	1 L	4 C
5	Midleton	Cork North	12 L
6	Fermoy	Cork North	11 L
7	Macroom	Cork North	11 L	17 C
8	Kinsale	Cork West	12 L
9	Bantry	Cork West		8 C
10	Schull	Cork West	8 L
11	North Inner City	D.M.R N.C.	19 L	19 C
12	Dun Laoghaire	D.M.R. East	12 L	12 C
13	O'Connell Street	D.M.R. N.C.	44 L
14	Pearse Street (Temple Bar)	D.M.R. S.C.	33 L
15	Tallaght	D.M.R. South	39 L
16	Finglas	D.M.R. West	22 L	25 C
17	Clondalkin	D.M.R. West	13 L	14 C
18	Ballyfermot	D.M.R. West	18 L
19	Galway	Galway	18 L
20	Tralee	Kerry	24 L
21	Carlow	Kilkenny Carlow	17 L	23 C
22	Kilkenny	Kilkenny Carlow	13 L	15 C
23	Tullamore	Laois / Offaly	14 L
24	Portlaoise	Laois /Offaly	15 L
25	Henry Street Limerick	Limerick	32 L	32 C
26	Dundalk	Louth	11 L
27	Drogheda	Louth	13 L	13 C
28	Castlebar	Mayo	6 L	8 C
29	Tourmakeady	Mayo	2 L
30	Westport	Mayo	2 L
31	Duleek / Donore	Meath	6 L
32	Sligo	Sligo	26 L
33	Thurles	Tipperary	2 L
34	Clonmel	Tipperary	14 L	16 C
35	Waterford City	Waterford	49 L
36	Tramore Division	Waterford	2 L
37	Mullingar	Westmeath	16 L	19 C
38	Westmeath Division Athlone	Westmeath	25 L	25 C
39	Bray	Wicklow	8 L	14 C
40	Clonakilty	Cork West		43 C
41	Crumlin	DMR South	5 L
42	Killorglin	Kerry	1 L
43	Kilkenny County Council	Kilkenny Carlow	4 L
44	Tramore Town	Waterford	9 L
45	Athlone Town Centre	Westmeath		26 C
46	Kilrush	Clare	1 L	24 C
47	Cabra	DMR West	3 L	4 C