Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for raising this important issue. I hear about CCTV schemes from many groups all over the country and in my capacity as a rural Deputy, I am fully aware of the desire for CCTV in local areas. I appreciate the sense of security that CCTV brings to many communities. In responding to community demand, the Government has made significant funding available to assist groups who wish to establish community CCTV in their areas. The grant aid scheme administered by my Department is intended to run for three years, with the sum of €1 million available each year.

The Senator will appreciate that there are a number of legal requirements in setting up of CCTV systems. Such systems are installed for the purpose of crime prevention and as aids to policing in areas to which the public routinely have access such as town centres. CCTV systems fall into two distinct but complementary categories, namely Garda CCTV systems and community-based CCTV systems. Neither type of system can be set up without an appropriate authorisation by the Garda Commissioner under section 38 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005. There are further requirements for community CCTV, which is governed by section 38(3)(c)of the Garda Síochána Act 2005 and the Garda Síochána CCTV order of 2006. The legal framework requires that any proposed community CCTV scheme must, in the first instance, be approved by the local joint policing committee, JPC, have the authorisation of the Garda Commissioner, often on foot of a recommendation from the local Garda crime prevention officer and must have the prior support of the relevant local authority. In this regard, it must be noted that the local authority must act as data controller. I must emphasise that this is the legal basis for all community CCTV schemes, regardless of whether grant funding is sought from my Department to assist in their setting up.

In accordance with this legal framework, the large 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 my Department, during previous grant aid schemes operated by Pobal on behalf of my Department or in connection with schemes funded independently by local authorities. I understand from my Department's engagement with the Local Government Management Agency, LGMA, that the total number of local authorities that have undertaken the role of data controller for these purposes amounts to 28 out of a total of 31 local authorities nationwide. I am also pleased to inform the Senator that the Data Protection Commission, DPC, issued guidance on data protection and community CCTV on 29 November. The guidance, which is available on the DPC website, confirms that there is a legal basis for community-based CCTV and that the general data protection regulation, GDPR, does not introduce any new barriers in that regard. In particular, the DPC confirms that 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.It also states that once the local authority in the administrative area concerned is willing to take on and deliver on its responsibilities as the 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, it confirms that local authorities are not required, as a result of their role as data controller, to monitor CCTV live feeds on a continuous basis. I am confident that this and other clarifications in the note will be of significant assistance to local authorities in terms of how they carry out their role under law in relation to community CCTV.

The Office of the Data Protection Commissioner is also currently conducting an audit of issues, including the practice, operation and governance of CCTV. Again, I expect the more detailed findings of that process to be of assistance to all concerned and, in particular, to local authorities. The Senator may also wish to be aware that my Department is also engaging on an ongoing basis with the Local Government Management Agency and the County and City Management Association, CCMA, to clarify any queries that might arise.

A Programme for a Partnership Government commits to supporting investment in CCTV systems and, as I have said, my Department 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 the proposed system, up to a maximum total of €40,000. To date, there have been 27 applications to the scheme, of which 20 have been approved for grant aid, 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.

I assure the Senator that all interested groups, in both rural and urban areas, can take advantage of the availability of this grant aid scheme. If the Senator is aware of community groups wishing to avail of the scheme, full details of the grant aid package are available to download from my Department's website www.justice.ieand support and guidance is available to help interested groups to apply for this funding through a dedicated email address, which is communitycctv@justice.ie.