Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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It is really important that Mr. Sherlock raised these issues here. Farmers have some unusual allies or friends in the form of animal welfare activists who have sided with them as they try to deal with this appalling activity. They would make the point that gardaí actually have considerable powers to deal with these issues, even from an animal welfare point of view but they do not really treat such incidents as crimes. There is not enough education in this area and that is something that we raised with An Garda Síochána last week. It is serious because of the importance of animals to the farming community but also in terms of the powers that are available that are not being used by gardaí. Mr. Sherlock has made his point very strongly.

I have a final question before I go to the Dáil Chamber. Unfortunately, this meeting is clashing with Priority Questions to the Minister for Justice and Equality. Has there been much work done on the success or otherwise of CCTV? It is said that if one has an alarm on one's house, one is less likely to be burgled. Does CCTV have the same deterrent effect or does it do more than that? Is it a help in securing prosecutions or is it just a deterrent?