Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister. I acknowledge that some work on this has been done and progress has been made. However, we are all also aware of the difficult situations in some areas where CCTV cameras have been in place and people have been asked to take them down because they did not meet the standards required. They were installed with the very best of intentions. There have been also been difficulties around the country for years where local authorities have found it difficult to fit into a space whereby they become data controllers and have to monitor footage and all of that without any additional funding.

In vast areas of rural Ireland there could be a convergence of roads, crossroads or a bridge on a river where it would be very useful to have CCTV to monitor the movement of traffic. Communities in such areas will not be able to come up with the resources to meet 40% of the required cost of installing cameras. That needs to be recognised. The 60% grant aid is too low and needs to be reviewed. When the Minister is reviewing that, she needs to ensure that adequate funding is in place so that people can meet that criterion.

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