Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The programme for Government includes a commitment to introduce CCTV systems in key locations nationwide. The community CCTV scheme was launched with great fanfare and excitement on the part of the joint policing committees, JPCs, and communities at large. I have in front of me a letter from Cavan County Council, whose members passed a resolution last Monday asking that the Minister for Justice and Equality reform this relatively new scheme. Although the Government allocated more than €1 million to the scheme to be spent over three years, I believe only four applications have been successful, at a cost of €120,000. JPCs across the country, including those I know locally in Cavan and Monaghan, are completely frustrated with the issue of data protection and the question as to who is ultimately responsible for it. The scheme is devised for communities yet the application process is tedious, lengthy, complex and certainly not easy for communities to engage with. The situation will not improve until there is a clear pathway given as to who is responsible for holding the data. That has to come from the Minister for Justice and Equality and his Department. That is where the frustration lies and we see nothing happening on the ground at the moment. Will the Minister, Deputy Regina Doherty, ask the Minister for Justice and Equality to give clear direction as to who is responsible for the data?

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