CCTV schemes in Co Tipperary held back by red tape

CCTV projects for towns and villages around Co Tipperary have been held up by red tape at national level in relation to data protection, leading to huge frustration for community groups on the ground, heard the December Joint Policing Committee (JPC).

The JPC brings together local gardaí, Tipperary Co Council officials and elected representatives on a quarterly basis.

Burgess, Birdhill and Cooleens CCTV are operational but not authorised, Littleton and Fethard have equipment installed but are not operating and are not authorised, while Borrisokane and Roscrea are at early stages and are not authorised.

Cllr Ger Darcy said the grassroots organisations in towns and villages have all the paperwork done, but it still needs to be signed off on by senior gardaí. “To say people are getting frustrated, is an understatement. Community groups are giving of their own time, and their own funding.

“They have all the preparatory work done on the ground, but it’s the officials who seem to be slow on it. The people on the ground have all the work done, they’ve done the public consultation, the planning, and they have been waiting for data control to be sorted out.”

But new issues have come up, and people are still waiting for CCTV to go up on poles. “I’m talking particularly about Borrisokane. We’re in the darkest days of winter and we’re nowhere near getting going. We want to get these over the line. People are really getting sick of it.”

Full story in next week's Tipperary Star