Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

People are free to apply to the scheme now. This part of it is applicable to those who are applying. To outline how people can apply, the details are available on my Department's website at gov.ie. There are technical specifications, application forms and guidance notes. For any community group that has an interest in this, it is a matter of contacting local Garda management, their local divisional officer, or the relevant local authority for assistance. There is a requirement for approval through a joint policing committee at the moment. As the JPCs change to community safety partnerships, we anticipate that this will go through the partnerships and require authorisation from the Garda Commissioner. This is an important step. I would say to Deputies, councillors and those who are engaged with their local communities that if there is an area that does not have CCTV and which they feel would benefit from it, or an area with CCTV that needs upgrading, the fund is now there and the issues around GDPR have been addressed. There is no reason this cannot be progressed now where issues have arisen in the past. I encourage people to take this up because it is available to them now.

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