Frustration 'at boiling point' in several areas of Tipperary

REPEATED delays in securing a CCTV system to assist Gardaí police the streets of Roscrea is causing concern for local people who fear the cameras may never become a reality.

The issue was debated at a public meeting in Roscrea organised by local activist group Roscrea Stands Up. The meeting was arranged to invite the public to share their feelings about anti-social behaviour and Garda resources.

Contributors said Roscrea's issues are a result of political failure to ensure adequate resources are in place for a town with Roscrea's population.

Michael Madden, Chairman of the committee driving the CCTV campaign, told the meeting the main issue is ascertaining how the ongoing maintenance of the cameras will be funded and finalising the official policy behind the system.

Mr Madden said Roscrea is “far ahead of other towns” in Tipperary and that the required community funding and detailed surveys have been completed.

Councillor Michael Smith told the meeting that Roscrea's campaign for Garda CCTV began over nine years ago. “The cameras will not replace Gardaí and are there to help them do their job”, he said.

Deputy Michael Lowry told the meeting that GDPR constraints are one of the major obstacles to finalising the policy.

“Anywhere cameras to help Gardaí are in place they are very effective and work well. An example of how important CCTV can be to assist Gardaí was shown in the role cameras played in the investigation into the death of Ashling Murphy in Tullamore - anyone behaving within the law has nothing to fear from Garda cameras”, Deputy Lowry said.

Deputy Lowry said Tipperary County Council will oversee the maintenance of the camera system, but only Gardaí will have access to the footage they capture.

LONG CAMPAIGN

After almost a decade of fundraising and surveys to provide camera systems to assist Gardaí, several recent local authority meetings have heard  the communities which led the campaign have become disillusioned due to the lengthy wait for progress.

Frustration is "at boiling point" in Roscrea and Borrisokane, the Cathaoirleach of Tipperary County Council told their meeting last month, where communities feel let down after repeatedly overcoming hurdles for camera systems.

After overcoming complex data protection issues and local communities generating the required funding for the required detailed surveys about what type of camera systems should be installed where, it appears who will fund their installation and most importantly, their ongoing maintenance and upgrade, has become the final stumbling block. 

Local authority Chairman, Ger Darcy, said that frustration is palpable across the county, where climbing crime rates and over-stretched Garda resources are causing great distress for rural communities in particular.

Recently South Tipperary based Cllr  Sean MacCriosain said that what is required is "a leap of faith" and advised communities to "stop pussyfootting around the issue" and install camera systems. 

However, this advice was directly opposed by Tipperary County Council CEO, Joe MacGrath, who stressed that the "day of putting up a few cameras and away you go is well and truly gone".

The issue stretches across the Municipal District for the Roscrea and Thurles areas, where recurring obstacles have hindered the project in Roscrea, while Thurles' cameras are redundant and not in use anymore.

Thurles based Cllr Jim Ryan says the business community  are frustrated by the situation, while shop-lifting "is rampant" in the town and often perpetrated by people who travel to Thurles by train with the sole intent of stealing from local shops.

"We've listened to excuse after excuse about these cameras - we need to know what needs to be done today", Cllr Ryan said, while Cllr David Dunne added that the camera systems must be of high quality "with a good picture" and that there is no loophole in policy that negates their purpose and makes any evidence they might capture not admissible in court.

At the meeting in Roscrea Deputy Michael Lowry said before the camera system became outdated and redundant in Thurles the Gardaí often remarked to him how helpful and effective they were in assisting the Gardaí police the town centre - “particularly at weekends when a lot of young people fill the town late at night”.

Roscrea Stands Up Chairman, Derek Russell said an update on the CCTV progress will come at a follow up meeting planned for the coming weeks.