Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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251. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the Policing Authority has not issued guidelines to the Garda Commissioner regarding the supervision and control by the Commissioner of the monitoring of CCTV by authorised persons under section 38(11) of the Garda Síochána Act 2005; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26357/18]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy will be aware that 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.

Garda CCTV systems are planned and implemented on the basis of An Garda Síochána's identified operational needs and priorities.  Accordingly, decisions in relation to the introduction or extension of such systems are a matter for the Garda Commissioner and I, as Minister, have no role in that regard. 

Under the grant-aid scheme launched by my Department last year 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 system, up to a maximum grant of €40,000.

I am anxious to ensure that all interested groups, in both rural and urban areas, take advantage of the availability of this grant aid scheme.  Full details of the grant aid package including guidelines, application forms, code of practice and other relevant documentation are all available to download from my Department's website - www.justice.ie. Support and guidance is available to help interested groups to apply for this funding through a dedicated email address available for this purpose -communitycctv@justice.ie. In addition, the criteria for the installation and operation by authorised persons of the CCTV system in specified areas has been established.

As the Deputy is aware, the Policing Authority, under section 38(11) of the An Garda Síochána Act 2005, as amended, is required to issue guidelines to the Garda Commissioner concerning the supervision and control by the Commissioner of the monitoring of CCTV by authorised persons.  I can confirm to the Deputy that I am aware that the Authority has not issued guidelines under section 38(11) as yet, however my Department is engaging with the Authority on the issue.

As mentioned above my Department has issued a Code of Practice For Community Based CCTV systems which is available from our website at www.justice.ie. This provides guidance to local authority groups and informs them of their legal and data protection obligations.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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252. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if he remains satisfied that the introduction of the GDPR does not diminish or impede the way or extent to which An Garda Síochána can investigate crime, with particular reference to reliance on CCTV or triangulation in County Kildare or elsewhere throughout the country; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26359/18]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy will be aware that 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.

I am informed by the Garda authorities that they do not consider the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) to impede the way or extent to which An Garda Síochána can investigate crime, including in respect of reliance on CCTV or triangulation in County Kildare or elsewhere throughout the country.

First, as the Deputy will be aware, EU Directive 2016/680 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 – commonly referred to as the Law Enforcement Directive (LED) - was transposed into national law in Part 5 of the Data Protection Act 2018. This applies to personal data processed by competent authorities for the purposes of prevention, investigation, detection, and prosecution of criminal offences or the execution of criminal penalties. The GDPR applies to all other processing of personal data.

Second, in relation to GDPR, section 41(b) of the Data Protection Act 2018 provides that without prejudice to the processing of personal data for a purpose other than the purpose for which the data has been collected which is lawful under the GDPR, the processing of personal data and special categories of personal data for a purpose other than the purpose for which the data has been collected shall be lawful to the extent that such processing is necessary and proportionate for certain other purposes, including preventing a threat to national security, defence or public security and preventing, detecting, investigating or prosecuting criminal offences.