Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to address this issue. I am disappointed the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Flanagan, is not in the Chamber to take the Topical Issue matter. Perhaps there is a reason for that. I will address it with the Minister of State, Deputy Stanton, who is designated in the Minister's place.

There is a very frustrating situation currently where community groups have been awarded grants for community CCTV but they are not in a position to draw down the grants. Mullaghmore, Woodenbridge and Mountmellick community alerts in Laois are all shackled at the moment. Those groups have raised thousands of euro towards a CCTV scheme through voluntary efforts but they are in a situation where they cannot put their plans into action because of a dispute over who is the data controller. I have raised the issue previously in the Chamber, and I raised it at the Laois local joint policing committee, JPC, of which I am a member. The policing committee asked me to raise the issue with the Minister, and I have spoken to him about it. I am trying to get greater clarity on it but we do not seem to be getting any closer to a solution. We need to push on to solve it and crack this nut.

I raised the matter with the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Flanagan, on September 25 and he told me he was anxious to sit down with the remaining handful of local authorities with a view to dealing with the issue. At that stage 26 out of 31 local authorities had agreed to be data controllers. Some people in local government believe the role should be taken on by the Garda, and I will return to this point shortly, but information that has since come to light shows that the responsibility is with the local authorities.

I raised the issue again in the Chamber with the Minister for Justice and Equality on 29 November during questions to the Minister. The Minister replied with greater clarity and he set it out very clearly that 28 out of 31 local authorities across the State had taken on the job of data controller for local CCTV schemes. Three local authorities, however, are refusing, including Laois County Council. The Minister also stated that "the Data Protection Commissioner does not have any concerns about the legislative basis for CCTV." The Data Protection Commissioner is happy with it. The Minister also stated the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner was currently conducting an audit of the practice, operation and governance of CCTV, that he expected findings from this process to be of assistance to all concerned and, in particular, to local authorities and that his Department was engaging on an ongoing basis with the Local Government Management Agency and the County and City Management Association. In reply to another question the Minister clearly stated that "the legal requirement for local authorities to act as data controller for the purpose of community CCTV schemes has been in place since 2006." That is in black and white. It is useful that the Minister nailed that information in the Dáil Chamber when I asked that question but we are no further on. There are meetings in Laois on issue - I am sure it affects other counties - to try to get a solution.

What has happened since the commitment was given in September that the Minister would sit down with the handful of remaining local authorities? Has he sat down with the remaining local authorities? Have his officials sat down with the local authority chief executive officers to see why they are holding this up?

On 29 November it was stated that the Department officials were again meeting with the CEOs of the local authorities. Has there been progress as a result of that? The Data Protection Commissioner does not have any concerns about the legislation and that the data controller would be the local authorities.

The community alert groups, such as those in Mullaghmore, Woodenbridge and Mountmellick, are all shackled despite having raised thousands of euro. They cannot move ahead to implement the scheme. It is very disappointing because Laois has a motorway running through it and people there are particularly vulnerable. There is concern about the issue in all those neighbourhoods.

People are trying to work with the Garda and there is good co-operation with gardaí. We have a good joint policing committee in the county, and a good superintendent and assistant superintendent who work with the local communities to help out in every way they can.

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | 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.

Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State. His reply brings further clarity to the situation. In respect of section 38(3)(c) of the Garda Síochána Act 2005, the Minister of State restated that the local authority must act as the data controller. That is clear and has been established. He also said that he has received feedback from the Data Protection Commissioner, who confirmed that there is no issue with local authorities doing this in respect of the new GDPR regulations. We are removing the roadblocks. I want to be fair to the CEOs of the local authorities. Perhaps it is an issue of resources, finance or IT staff, particularly for the smaller local authorities. Let us consider where the situation seems to be stuck at the moment. The Data Protection Commissioner is okay. The law is sound and we are clear on that in black and white. The Minister of State has provided further information regarding data protection. What happens next? How far is that advanced with the CEOs of local authorities around the country, including the three that are still refusing to do it? Perhaps they have good reason. Is it a question of resources or staff?

I have corresponded again with the CEO of Laois County Council and I have forwarded the most recent reply to the CEO that was given to me by the Minister in the Chamber. The existing schemes that are not part of the grant scheme in Shanahoe and Borris-in-Ossory, Co. Laois, have been of enormous benefit in recent years in helping the Garda and the local community to prevent and solve crime. I know that at first hand. There is a real benefit. The Minister of State might be able to tell me first where those discussions are at with the CEOs of the three county councils. I also request that he relays to the Minister, Deputy Flanagan, that there is one roadblock in the way. If it is resources and staff that the county councils need, it needs to be sorted.

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I reiterate that it is a long-standing statutory requirement that any proposal for a community CCTV scheme must, among other legal requirements, have the prior support of the relevant local authority. That is a must. It must also act as data controller. This requirement is set out in the Garda Síochána (CCTV) Order 2006 and applies to all community CCTV schemes, regardless of how they are funded. The Minister has indicated that he considers it important that communities are able to make decisions to enhance their own sense of security. Community CCTV schemes are one way in which communities choose to do this. With Garda approval and local authority co-operation, communities can play a real role in making themselves feel safer and be safer. We are confident that the guidance issued recently by the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner regarding data protection and CCTV will be very helpful to all concerned, as the Deputy has outlined, and particularly to local authorities as they carry out their role. The Minister has asked me to put on record his thanks to local authorities that have supported such schemes and to assure them that his officials are doing all they can to further streamline and simplify the process. Officials in the Department of Justice and Equality are available to provide initial guidance on the application process for grant aid and I encourage the Deputy and other colleagues to join the Minister and me in encouraging interested groups to take advantage of the scheme. I will bring back the request that the Deputy has made to the Department and the Minister. Only three local authorities have not signed up to this. They probably have their own reasons. I assure the Deputy that the Minster and his officials will do all they can to find out what those reasons are and to streamline the situation so that these schemes can be put in place.