Several local representatives have called on Kerry County Council (KCC) not to spend any more money installing CCTV at dumping black spots if the cameras are not hidden.
The issue was discussed at the recent full council meeting after independent councillor Jackie Healy Rae requested an update on the rollout.
He said councillors had been told CCTV would address illegal dumping, but that management was awaiting amendments to national legislation to allow its installation.
Cllr Healy Rae said they were recently informed that any CCTV at littering blackspots would have to be clearly advertised and visible to the public.
He said this was akin to putting up a sign informing a burglar that a house has security cameras: it may deter them, but they will simply move next door.
He claimed that if cameras were advertised, those engaged in illegal dumping would drive further up the road and dump elsewhere.
Cllr Healy Rae said he would oppose spending any more money on CCTV if its presence had to be advertised, as it would catch no criminals.
He said this defeated the purpose of CCTV and undermined what members had sought.
Councillor Deirdre Ferris agreed, saying covert CCTV in certain areas may prove more cost-effective than increased staff rotations and enforcement visits.
Director of Corporate Services and People Development, Martin O’Donoghue, told councillors that most CCTV constraints are not of the council’s making.
He said data protection requirements create onerous obligations.
Mr O’Donoghue said overt CCTV is a measure of last resort and that the council would have to prove all other interventions had failed and could not succeed, including staff rotations and enforcement patrols.
He said members would receive a further update on the constraints and operating environment surrounding the council’s use of CCTV.
