Kerry County Council management say the widespread use of CCTV in the county's towns and villages isn't feasible.
Fine Gael councillor Mike Kennelly and Fianna Fáil's Cllr Mikey Sheehy both had their motions on the matter moved at the last full council meeting of 2024.
Cllr Kennelly called on the council and An Garda Síochána to install and monitor CCTV systems in all Kerry's villages and towns 'in light of recent anti social disturbances' as matter of public safety.
Meanwhile Cllr Mikey Sheehy asked for an update on the progress of the rollout of CCTV systems in Kerry, particularly in the context of national legislation passed earlier this year to support community-based CCTV projects.
In a written response, council officials said CCTV systems in towns and villages must strictly adhere to GDPR regulations and other data protection legislation.
They stated footage containing identifiable individuals is considered personal data and requires a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA), public consultations, approval from the Garda Commissioner, a possible formal consultation with the Data Protection Commission and data sharing agreements.
Furthermore, the official response said CCTV projects have both significant purchase and installation costs for cameras and other equipment, and recurring costs including ongoing annual maintenance as well as auditing and record keeping costs.
Council officials said although grant aid may provide for up to 60% of capital costs to a maximum of €45,000, the remaining 40% and annual recurring costs are the responsibility of the municipal districts .
This would have to be borne by the municipal districts (MDs) and must be included in the annual budget.
The ongoing town center CCTV scheme in Killarney has been delayed due to complex these legal, regulatory, and procedural requirements.
Once feedback from the public and the Data Protection Commission is incorporated into the Killarney Data Protection Impact Assessment, the procurement process for the CCTV equipment and system will begin.
Officials claimed wide-scale implementation across multiple towns and villages is prohibitively expensive and impractical.
