'Badly needed' CCTV scheme in this Tipperary town set to be upgraded
The Thurles CCTV scheme has been out of action for a number of years, the meeting heard
There are hopes that a CCTV scheme in a North Tipperary town could be brought back into use after lying idle for a number of years.
The Thurles CCTV scheme has been out of action for a number of years, and the issue was again raised at the March meeting of the Thurles Municipal District by local councillor Jim Ryan.
Speaking at the meeting, Cllr Ryan said that a constituent brought the issue to his attention when she attended at his office wondering why she couldn't get CCTV footage of an incident that she was involved in.
"I know funding is an issue and we've tried our best to get the funding for it, but again last week, a lady called into my office, there was an incident in Liberty Square and she was wondering why she wasn't able to get CCTV footage," Cllr Ryan said.
"It doesn't look good that we have cameras up there that aren't working and haven't been working for years," he added.
In response, the district engineer informed councillors at the meeting that funding has been made available in this year's budget for CCTV schemes.
"You might remember a few years ago, J&N Consultants came down and did a review of all the CCTV cameras in the town and they put a proposal together that all CCTV cameras needed to be upgraded, the system was gone past saving," councillors were informed.
"They put a cost on that, but up until this year there was no budget for CCTV, now I know that has changed in the 2025 budget where an allocation was made for CCTV so we will now progress the CCTV system for Thurles, and the first step is to get garda approval, so that's what will happen," councillors were told.
Speaking after the meeting, independent councillor Jim Ryan welcomed the plans to progress with upgrading the CCTV system.
"I'm very happy with the response, I've been raising this issue for a number of years now at this stage, the CCTV cameras in Thurles haven't been working for a long number of years, it's causing a bit of trouble and a bit of hassle as a result," Cllr Ryan said.
"The excuse being given all along is that there was no funding but it was confirmed that funding is now available, but obviously it will need to get approval from the garda commissioner, so as soon as that's got, the funding is there and we can then apply to get the contractors in to upgrade the system, which is badly needed in the town of Thurles," he concluded.