Manorhamilton CCTV scheme set to come to fruition

Will the Manorhamilton CCTV scheme upgrade be eligible to avail of the funding for CCTV schemes that was recently announced by Minister Helen McEntee asked Cllr Felim Gurn at the latest Joint Policing Committee meeting this week.
Another member of the committee, Janice Raine Conick asked if CCTV cameras, of which An Garda Síochána can avail in their work, be provided in all North Leitrim towns and villages?
Joseph Gilhooly, who has been appointed as the interim Chief Executive of Leitrim County Council, stated that the council has done “quite an amount of work on the Manorhamilton CCTV scheme in conjunction with the Manorhamilton Town Team and a subcommittee was set up to look at the upgrading Manorhamilton town scheme system.”
He said the proposal went to the Garda Commissioner's Office for approval and they are awaiting sign off.
“Once that happens, we can apply to secure funding to implement the upgrade,” he said.
Cllr Gurn welcomed Mr Gilhooly's response.
Cllr Sean McDermott said that in the past there was a plan to “expand the camera system into villages in north Leitrim” saying that “it's so important throughout our towns and villages that there are cameras in certain locations.”
Mr Gilhooly responded that there was “some work done some time back by a local committee in relation to having a broader CCTV scheme covering villages in north Leitrim; that didn't materialise any further at the time.”
He continued that the grant stands at just €40,000 to upgrade the Manorhamilton CCTV scheme and “isn't wholly attractive” and the “priority for the council at the moment is to see the improvements carried out in Manorhamilton and Carrick-on-Shannon” and “I can't see us going beyond that in the short-term given the cost of the two schemes awaiting approval.”
Cllr Justin Warnock backed up Cllr McDermott's comments “five, six years ago, we were led to believe that there would be CCTV in all our villages and on the N15 but now we hear that's not going to happen and it's a pity we haven't been told before this; I'm disappointed because we had well attended meetings and now it seems it will only be Carrick-on-Shannon and Manorhamilton; it's unfortunate.”
Mr Gilhooly said they are “community schemes so the initiative is primarily led by the community so I would have assumed the community players involved in those discussions would have been feeding back to their communities.
“Certainly, our priority shifted in order to protect the Manorhamilton scheme and that's where our co-funding will go given the size of the town and its location on the N16.”
He added, “The significant requirements in the last number of years, since that wider north Leitrim scheme was envisaged; there's quite an amount of responsibility around data protection and controls there that weren't there before.”
He said that getting the £two schemes we have in existence up to a standard would be a significant priority.”
Cllr McDermott noted that “the problem was that communities had to match fund and some of the smaller rural communities have not got that money and that needs to be addressed going forward.”
Cllr Gurn noted that the Manorhamilton CCTV system is “a totally new CCTV system so when we originally did the CCTV system back 15 years ago it was about €120,000 and the same if not more in funding. The problem is that the local community groups out there have to come up with the money which is impossible.”
He said the Manorhamilton system has to be upgraded first and then “maybe down the road then the government can start looking at towns and villages they can add on.”