Mr. Brendan O'Connor:

I share the Deputy’s frustration and the experience of members. We had the same issues. Around the country there were some very good quality cameras in place. We were using them to investigate crime. However, issues arose, as the Deputy highlighted, in relation to who the data controller was. In my own division in Letterkenny, we had a problem where there is a CCTV system that is quite similar to that which operates in Dublin city centre. Yet, unlike in Dublin, the county council in Donegal was the data controller, even though gardaí in the communications room were actually controlling the joystick.

There are, therefore, huge logistical issues. In rural communities then we had the situation where funding and grants were available, which bodies like Muintir na Tíre were trying to draw down, but it seemed to get lost in bureaucracy, obligations and problems. We would certainly hope this legislation addresses that I believe it was the intention of Part 3 of the Bill to do so.

It is a huge issue, however, and it is impacting on the effectiveness of rural policing whenever we are trying to do more with less and maybe with Garda stations being closed. Unfortunately, we would never see CCTV as a substitute for policing but it does complement policing. We can definitely relate to the problems highlighted by the Deputy. We would like to see those sorts of things addressed because there is a huge problem there.