Laois Community CCTV scheme on cusp of approval

A proponent of Community CCTV Schemes said the process has been so complex and fraught with obstacles that he wouldn’t have started had he known beforehand.    

Chairman of Woodenbridge Community Alert, Michael G Phelan described the process, which the community of Woodenbridge began in 2015, as frustrating. 

He revealed that the warranty on the cameras in the Woodenbridge Community CCTV Scheme is due to run out as they are up almost two years.   

“I wouldn’t have started the whole process if I knew it was going to go on this long, it’s crazy,”  he said. 

The group received 60% funding for the scheme in the form of a grant but haven’t been able to draw it down to pay their camera installer because they are still awaiting approval. They offered to part pay for the cameras but the installer was prepared to wait on the full price. 

The local community in Woodenbridge had raised funds through donations and held fundraisers, enlisting the help of celebrities like Helen Carroll from RTE’s Ear to the Ground and crime reporter Paul Williams for their charity events. 

Mr Phelan said members of the community, in particular the elderly and often those who could least afford it, made private donations towards the scheme. Although planning permission was granted and the cameras are installed and operating, the scheme still hasn’t been officially approved.   

The process has been mired by complications relating to issues such as GDPR which required strict rules around data control and retention and then planning and funding applicants. Mr Phelan recalled being up in the Garda Station until 2am with Garda Inspector Joe Culleton filling out forms in relation to a funding application. Despite their successful application, the money still hasn’t gone to the camera installer because they haven’t been officially launched. “From what I can gather we have all the boxes ticked now,” he said. 

He spoke of the complex nature of the process and said he believed that the ever changing demands had resulted in disillusionment in some groups. Despite this, he said the cameras bring comfort and a sense of security to the community. 

“We are all working voluntarily, none of us is getting a shilling and the amount of work that has gone into it,” he said.   

When asked how he felt about the prospect of reapplying for the cameras due to a new Bill he asked, “where is it going to end? This is another element of changing the goalposts once again.”

“Why can’t they set the rules and stick to the rules,” he asked.  

Speaking on a new Bill in the Dail earlier this month, Minister for Justice Simon Harris signaled that it would require new authorisation for CCTV schemes.

However, the Department of Justice has said approved schemes will have up to four years to gain new approval after the Bill is enacted.