Ms Maeve-Anne Kenny:

I apologise; I was not sure if those questions were for the Department. I will come in anyway.

In essence, on the first question on CCTV and the idea that we will have an excess of cameras or far more cameras than are necessary, the requirements in the Bill in terms of authorisation by the Garda Commissioner are that a data protection impact assessment is carried out prior to the installation of any CCTV. Any alterations to existing CCTV schemes where that would extend their coverage or number of cameras would be subject to another authorisation. The old authorisation cannot be relied on; a separate application has to be made.

There will be codes of practice governing CCTV as well as the other technologies under in the Bill, which will require consultation with the Data Protection Commissioner and data protection and human rights impact assessments. From our point of view, we feel there are safeguards in the Bill to prevent the type of situation to which the Senator referred.

On the new roll-out of community CCTV, as I mentioned, the Minister has committed to undertake a review of how communities can continue to play a role in CCTV and how the proposals under the Bill will take effect over the next couple of years. We will have to await the outcome of that review to make further comment on that point. The key thing to note is that the local authority and Garda Commissioner will be required under the Bill to enter into a joint data control agreement. It would be very clear what their rights and responsibilities are in respect of the data from CCTV.