Roscrea receives 'kick in the teeth' on Garda CCTV

Camera systems to assist Gardaí police the streets of towns and villages across Tipperary have been awaiting approval for a number of years - last week it was announced several areas have received the green light, but Roscrea was not included.

Cameras to assist Gardaí received official approval from the Department of Justice and Garda Commissioner's office and will be installed in Borrisokane and Littleton soon, with paperwork at an advanced stage for Nenagh, Clonmel and Fethard.

However the camera system for Roscrea was not included in a recent update delivered at the final meeting of the Tipperary Joint Policing Committee (JPC) last week, which prompted Chairman, Noel Coonan, to describe the omission as a "kick in the teeth" for the many individuals and businesses who fundraised for the camera system.

Roscrea's Garda CCTV system has been a long-running saga which predates the creation of the JPC, however, an incident in 2017 where an elderly couple were attacked in their home by burglars, hugely invigorated the campaign to bring police cameras to the heritage town's streets and approach roads.

Several surveys investigating the town's suitability and how and where the technology would be installed and operated from took place against the backdrop of a well supported fundraising campaign and creation of a local committee to oversee the project.

It was widely believed the Borrisokane and Roscrea systems were advancing in tandem, and the news that Roscrea had been "left behind" irked the Chairman, who has been heavily involved in the delivery of the camera system since the campaign's inception.

Addressing the last meeting of the JPC, Councillor Coonan, who is stepping away from politics and not competing in the upcoming local elections, expressed the frustration of the people in Roscrea and reflected on how much work has gone into preparing the town for its delivery.

"Roscrea is being left behind, and this isn't the only thing it's being left behind on" Cllr. Coonan told the meeting, demanding answers on why the Roscrea system wasn't included and what happens next.

"Starting out with Inspector Myles and there were two, if not three, Superintendents who were the driving force of this in Roscrea. Three reports were done on it and Roscrea moved to the iCloud system because it is a heritage town with a lot of listed buildings and the terrain.

"There was agreement on it and it was brought before this Committee in Eddie Meehan's time when he was Secretary and it was approved and now we hear it isn't even with the Gardaí and wasn't sent to the Garda Commissioner's office", the Chairman said.

"The frustration in Rosacea is palpable and in other areas where this ongoing saga continues, but it's an awful kick in the teeth for the general public that Roscrea is not even being considered", Cllr. Coonan said.

Director of Services for Tipperary County Council, Brian Beck, said it is important to acknowledge the progress made: "Getting big ones like Nenagh and Clonmel, that have been in for a while, across the line would be welcomed by everyone in those communities".

Mr. Beck explained that funding raised before submission for authorisation by the Garda Commissioner's office is critical.

"The significant difference between somewhere like Roscrea and like Clonmel is the money that has been set aside. There is money that has been allocated in Clonmel for this, in Roscrea there has been no money allocated.

"There has been great work on the ground by the community to fundraise themselves and there is a €40k grant with €5k for operations, but equally the system that has been proposed is going to cost a lot more than that and if we are going to progress this we need to know it can be installed, can be operated and can be maintained", Mr. Beck said.

Mr. Beck said the policy on Garda CCTV was intended to ensure a "sustainable and a clear line of sight for funding" adding, the positive news is "we'll hopefully have six or seven of these across the line - funded, operational and funding sorted".

He said now that the policy is in place the focus can shift to towns like Roscrea with the benefit of the policy being adopted and a mechanism in place to allocate money to Roscrea and get the project across the line.

Roscrea wasn't included "because we didn't have that assurance and there wasn't enough information to allow it to progress", he added.

Mr. Beck said Roscrea will benefit from a "more robust" application to the Garda Commissioner's office and that previously experienced delays will be eliminated and the application will be driven by the Municipal Council for the area.

"Roscrea is not the only town in this situation - Carrick-on-Suir is in the exact same situation, but they are done and have the costings done. We were not able to progress them because the money wasn't there", Mr. Beck said.

Meanwhile, Cathaorileach of Tipperary County Council, Ger Darcy, told the meeting the community in Borrisokane "will be delighted".

"I understand your frustrations in relation to Roscrea" he told the Chairman, "but we are absolutely delighted in Borrisokane to finally have the green light for the scheme".

Cllr. Darcy thanked everyone in the JPC who assisted with the years-long campaign and paid particular attention to the committee in Borrisokane "who did all the work".