David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Minister sends his apologies for not being present this evening. I thank Deputy Stanley for raising this very important issue and I recognise his serious interest in the matter. The Minister and I have heard from many groups of their desire for CCTV in their local areas and we know the sense of security that it can bring to many communities. Responding to this demand, the Government has made significant funding available to assist groups wishing to establish community CCTV in their areas. The grant aid scheme administered by the Department of Justice and Equality is intended to run for three years, with €1 million available each year.

The Deputy will appreciate that there are a number of legal requirements around establishment of CCTV. CCTV systems installed for the purposes of crime prevention and as aids to policing in areas to which the general public routinely have access, such as town centres, fall into two distinct but complementary categories, namely, Garda CCTV systems and community-based CCTV systems. Neither type of CCTV system may be established without authorisation by the Garda Commissioner under section 38 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005, among other requirements. Community CCTV is governed by section 38(3)(c) of the Garda Síochána Act 2005 and the Garda Síochána (CCTV) Order 2006. This legal framework requires that any proposed community CCTV scheme must: be approved by the local joint policing committee; have the authorisation of the Garda Commissioner; and have the prior support of the relevant local authority, which must also act as data controller. I emphasise that this is the legal basis for all community CCTV schemes, regardless of whether or not grant funding is sought from the Department to assist in their establishment.

In accordance with this legal framework, the vast majority of local authorities have previously undertaken to act as data controllers in the context of specific community CCTV schemes. This has been the case either in the course of the current grant aid scheme administered by the Department of Justice and Equality, during the previous grant aid scheme operated by Pobal on behalf of the Department, or in connection with schemes funded independently by local authorities. The Minister, Deputy Flanagan, has informed me that, based on his Department’s engagement with the Local Government Management Agency, the number of local authorities that have undertaken the role of data controller for these purposes amounts to 28 out of the 31 local authorities nationwide, as Deputy Stanley already said. I am pleased to inform the Deputy, on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Flanagan, that the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner has, on 29 November of this year, issued a guidance on data protection and community CCTV. The guidance, which is available on the Data Protection Commission website, confirms that there is a legal basis for community based CCTV and that the General Data Protection Regulation, GDPR, does not introduce new barriers in that regard. In particular, the Data Protection Commissioner's guidance states:

Data protection legislation does not stand in the way of the roll-out of Community based CCTV schemes that have been authorised by the Garda Commissioner. Once the local authority in the administrative area concerned is willing to take on and deliver on its responsibilities as a data controller for the schemes concerned, there is no legal impediment under data protection legislation to the scheme commencing.

The guidance covers a number of other issues also - for example, confirming that local authorities are not required, as a result of their role as data controller, to monitor CCTV live feeds on a continuous basis. The Minister, Deputy Flanagan, is confident that this and other clarifications in the note will be of significant assistance to local authorities in how they carry out their role in relation to community CCTV.

The Data Protection Commissioner is also currently conducting an audit of issues, including the practice, operation and governance of CCTV. Again, it is to be expected that the more detailed findings of that process to be of assistance to all concerned and, in particular, to local authorities. The Deputy may also wish to be aware that the Department of Justice and Equality is engaging on an ongoing basis with the Local Government Management Agency and the County and City Management Association to clarify any queries arising.

A Programme for a Partnership Government commits to supporting investment in CCTV systems and, as I said, the Department of Justice and Equality is administering a grant aid scheme to assist groups in the establishment of community-based CCTV systems in their local areas. Eligible groups can apply for grant aid of up to 60% of the total capital cost of a proposed CCTV scheme, up to a maximum total of €40,000. I am informed that to date there have been 27 applications to the scheme, with 20 applications approved for grants totalling more than €500,000. A further four applications to the scheme are currently being assessed and considered. The remaining three applications have been returned to the applicants concerned to enable them to supply the information necessary to qualify for grant aid.

See this speech in context