CCTV cameras taken ‘out of service’ across Limerick after data ruling
MORE THAN 100 closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras have been withdrawn from service - and some physically removed altogether - in Limerick.
It comes after the council was hit with a €110,000 fine and a reprimand by the Data Protection Commissioner regarding its use of the surveillance cameras across the county.
The investigation found that in multiple instances, there was no legal basis or permission from the gardai for the installation of some cameras.
At this month’s council meeting, the local authority’s head of digital services Alan Dooley gave a rundown of the measures that have been taken following this move.
Some 26 cameras detecting speeding vehicles remain switched off, he said, aerial cameras have been grounded while more than 100 CCTV units have been taken out of service.
It was this point which sparked outrage from councillors.
“This is a charter for thugs and criminals. The guards need to be around a lot more. Some very serious assaults have taken place along the Canal Bank in recent months, and the presence of a camera has made a big difference. If anything, we need more cameras,” said Cllr Kieran O’Hanlon, Fianna Fail.
Fine Gael’s Liam Galvin added: “The only people happy with this will be criminals and thugs fighting each other. To take down over 100 cameras... it’s finished me. The jig is up.”
But Independent councillor Emmett O’Brien spoke of “freedom of movement” and criticised the “invasion of privacy” he feels these cameras bring about.
“I don't want this local authority or some other power-hungry bureaucrat monitoring our every move,” he said.
Labour's Conor Sheehan also believes that in a lot of cases, CCTV is “ineffective”.
He said: “We all have a right to privacy and CCTV does not compensate for good policing.”
Questions were also asked about the removal of number-plate reading technology which detects speeding vehicles as part of the measures.
Fine Gael councillor Daniel Butler feels that Limerick Council has become a “scapegoat” for the country.
“I don't know one law-abiding citizen who would object to having a camera put up in their area,” he said.
His party leader, Cllr John Sheahan, added: “To try and equate this with an invasion of privacy does not sit well with me at all.”