Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Community safety is a top priority for my Department and everyone has the right to be safe and feel safe in their communities. Community CCTV plays a vital role in achieving this goal.

As the Deputy may be aware, since 2017 my Department has administered a grant-aid scheme supporting groups wishing to establish a community-based CCTV system in their area.

The CCTV grant scheme was extended in 2019 to cover not only new CCTV systems, but to also provide funding for the extension or upgrade of existing CCTV systems which are incomplete or obsolete. Applicants may now also seek a once-off grant of up to €5,000 for minor maintenance costs.

Grants of over €950,000 for 36 Community CCTV schemes have been approved to date and a list of these CCTV projects is attached for the Deputy's information.

A further €1 million in funding has been made available towards the development of community-based CCTV schemes in 2024. Applications for funding are now open and can be made directly by the relevant Local Authorities.

This level of funding underlines my commitment to working with communities to ensure everyone feels safe.

The legal framework which provides for the operation of community CCTV requires that any proposed scheme must:

be approved by the local Joint Policing Committee*,

have a data protection impact assessment prepared,

have the prior support of the relevant local authority, which must act as a joint data controller with An Garda Síochána and a joint data controller agreement must be put in place, and

have the authorisation of the Garda Commissioner.

The Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) Act 2023, which was signed into law in December last year, will reform CCTV schemes. Under the Act, community groups will continue to have their say in keeping their community safe as they will be able to request schemes in their area

In tandem with this, the Act also provides for Garda use of Body Worn Cameras (BWC), CCTV and Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR).

The parts of the Recording Devices Act that are necessary for the deployment of BWCs will be commenced first, prior to their introduction. Other parts of the Act will be commenced once the codes of practice for those parts are fully drafted in line with part 8 of the Act.

Recognising that community safety is a whole of Government responsibility, my Department has established three pilot Local Community Safety Partnerships (LCSPs). These partnerships, trialled in Longford, Waterford and Dublin’s North Inner City, bring together Gardaí, community groups and local representatives which have each created a community safety plan tailored to that area’s needs.

*Once commenced, the Policing, Security and Community Safety Act 2024 will provide for the nationwide roll-out of LCSPs. The LCSPs will then become the appropriate avenue for community groups to request local authorities to consider schemes in their area. Meanwhile, however, it is open to groups to request their Local Authorities to apply for funding for schemes through this allocation.