LABOUR Party councillor Conor Sheehan has welcomed progress on a CCTV system for Garryowen.
This came following confirmation at Monday’s Metropolitan district meeting of Limerick City and County Council (LCCC), where it was confirmed that the local authority is working in conjunction with An Garda Síochána to identify potential CCTV locations.
The City North representative had a motion on the agenda for the February meeting calling on the local authority to seek funding for the provision of a comprehensive CCTV system for Garryowen, given that it meets the criteria for cameras.
Head of digital services at LCCC, Alan Dooley, told council members that the local authority has started work on assessing the potential of a CCTV scheme.
Initial discussions, Mr Dooley explained, have now triggered the next step of identifying potential CCTV locations.
“Once potential locations have been identified, a detailed discussion will take place between Limerick City and County Council and An Garda Síochána members with knowledge of the area and it’s associated issues to assess the necessity, proportionality, and justification of each potential location,” he said.
“If agreement is reached on locations, Limerick City and County Council will undertake an assessment of funding needs with regard to installation and operational costs, taking into account grant funding that may be available from the Department of Justice.
“Every effort will be made to source the necessary funding for a CCTV scheme in Garryowen,” he said.
Labour councillor Conor Sheehan welcomed what he considered as “overdue good news”.
“There are currently no working cameras in the area, which makes the Garryowen and wider Johnsgate area difficult to police,” Cllr Sheehan told the Limerick Post after the meeting.
“While there is a long road ahead, I welcome the fact that the council have begun actively progressing an application for a CCTV system in the area.
“It is anticipated that this process will take a number of months to complete as every proposed location has to be assessed to ensure that each camera is proportionate, necessary, and justified under GDPR.”
