Action on CCTV demanded

Issues over CCTV installation in the context of data protection legislation in towns across County Cavan were once again highlighted at the July meeting of Cavan County Council. Elected representatives received a reply from An Garda Síochána in respect of stalled schemes for Belturbet, Ballyjamesduff and Ballyconnell.

The letter, from the Garda National Community engagement Bureau, highlighted how the Bureau is seeking clarification around how the gardaí can further assist the council with the installation of CCTV.

The letter also pointed to a recent application for a CCTV scheme in Ballinagh, which is currently being progressed in accordance with Section 38 of the An Garda Síochána Act 2005. The correspondence concluded with indications that Inspector Ann-Marie Lardner will liaise with Cavan County Council regarding “proposed applications for CCTV schemes” going forward.

Cllr Brendan Fay (Ind) told those gathered that he wasn’t “happy” with the response and indicated that initial funding had been allocated back in 2017 for the scheme but it never went ahead.

“Now it appears that the Department is blaming Cavan County Council for this,” he continued. “This issue needs to be addressed once and for all.”

Sinn Féin’s Damien Brady pointed to the scheme’s installation in Ballyconnell only for residents and business people to discover that it couldn’t be connected “because of GDPR [General Data Protection Regulations]”.

“It’s very, very disappointing what is going on. I support Cllr Fay’s calls to write to the Department so that we can progress this scheme.

We need those cameras in our towns and villages to fight crime, especially with the lack of gardaí nowadays,” he said.

Cllr Trevor Smith (FG) added: “An Garda Síochána is responsible for policing the State and for ensuring the safety of people in our communities… not Cavan County Council.

We need to establish where we are in terms of the number of applications under the scheme that we have and how we can move it forward.”

Fianna Fáil’s Patricia Walsh told those gathered that, while the initial rollout of CCTV schemes was successful, it is an initiative that is no longer moving forward.

“We have cameras sitting there that can’t be used because of GDPR and it’s absolutely ridiculous what is going on,” she fumed before Cllr TP O’Reilly (FG) added: “The place for camera monitors should be at the garda station not council offices.

Technology is moving on and this rollout should be moving on too.”