Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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454. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the cost incurred by his Department in the Laois Closed-Circuit Television Pilot Project Scheme, by year; his future plans for the project; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2132/16]

Ann Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Labour)
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My Department has provided €50,000 towards the cost of a pilot rural CCTV initiative located in Laois. This is in addition to the €20,000 raised locally towards the overall cost of the project. CCTV cameras will be located in strategic positions in rural locations, with the aim of increasing public safety and deterring criminal or anti-social behaviour. The images from the cameras will be reviewed at the request of An Garda Síochána in the event of a crime or incident occurring. This will act not only as a deterrent but also assist with the possible prosecution of offenders through facilitating the detection and investigation of offences, as well as providing recorded evidence of occurrences of incidents and also facilitating quicker responses.

The initial pilot is to be located in Dunmore, Co. Laois, and will be managed by Dunmore Community Alert, in cooperation with the local community, An Garda Síochána and Laois County Council. My Department will review the operation of this pilot project later in 2016.

The Government is committed to tackling crime in both rural and urban communities and to ensuring that An Garda Síochána has the resources to deliver highly-mobile and responsive Garda patrols in all communities. The 2016 Budget allocation of €1.5 billion for An Garda Síochána includes over €67 million in additional funding, which will allow the recruitment of 600 new Gardaí on top of the 550 Gardaí recruited since this Government reopened the Garda College in September 2014. It will also provide additional funding for Garda Surveillance, special operations and targeted, intelligence-led policing. This additional recruitment and budget allocation builds on the current high level of investment in Garda vehicles. Taken together, this step-change in investment in policing will ensure that the Gardaí can be mobile, visible and responsive, on the roads and in the community.