Fingal must get fair share of national €1M community CCTV scheme

Local Fianna Fáil TD, Darragh O’Brien has said that the North County must get its fair share of the €1 million in funding which has been allocated for the introduction of investment in community CCTV schemes.

Deputy O’Brien was commenting following confirmation from the Department of Justice and Equality that €1 million in funding will be made available to fund community based CCTV schemes to increase public safety.   

Deputy O’Brien said, “Over the past year I have heard from a number of Fingal based community groups who are crying out for funding to deal with and deter increasing anti-social behaviour and criminality. 

“I have been raising the importance of providing investment in CCTV systems along the road network and in urban centres, in Dáil Eireann for some time now. I am very conscious of the value that communities, especially communities in Fingal, place on CCTV.

“This funding is crucial in offering support to those in our community who wish to install and maintain CCTV security systems as a means of deterring anti-social behaviour and assisting in the detection of offenders.

“While I very much welcome the introduction of this scheme, our focus must remain on providing measures targeted at crime-prevention and that will only truly be achieved by effective policing on our streets. As we know, Garda numbers have been cut in the Dublin Fingal area by 20% over the past five years. Our community depends on Gardaí to feel safe in their communities and to uphold the rule of law.

“This Government must do more to assist communities affected by crime and burglary, particularly in Fingal and I will do my utmost to ensure that this scheme is introduced in full.
“The Minister must ensure that the North County, which desperately needs the support of CCTV schemes, gets its fair share of the funding allocated,” concluded O’Brien.