City council confirms it has only one public CCTV system in Cork

Though Cork City Council operates hundreds of CCTV cameras, it has confirmed it has just one public CCTV camera system, amid concerns that GDPR is protecting criminals in the city.

At last week’s council meeting, a motion by Labour’s Peter Horgan seeking a meeting with the Data Protection Commissioner was approved.

Mr Horgan said that GDPR had long been used as an excuse not to introduce more community CCTV systems, while The Echo has heard reports from the public that existing cameras are being removed.

A spokesperson for Cork City Council, in response to a query from The Echo about how many cameras are in place and how this compares to last year, said the council does not comment in detail on the specific location, the number of, the coverage provided by, the technical capabilities, or the operational status of its CCTV cameras.

“The disclosure of such information could compromise the effectiveness of these systems and give rise to security concerns,” they said.

“This is particularly relevant when CCTV has been deployed to discourage illegal activity such as illegal dumping at well-known litter blackspots in the city. The footage is used to prosecute those involved in illegal dumping.”

The spokesperson did, however, explain that Cork City Council operates two types of CCTV systems — private CCTV systems and public (community) CCTV systems.

They added that there is just one community CCTV system, which is in the Blackpool area.

The council’s private systems are at locations across its City Hall campus, at various library branches, at its car parks, at the Black Ash Park and Ride site, at council depots, cemeteries, and at a number of other public buildings and sites.

The spokesperson added: “These CCTV cameras have been installed for a variety of reasons, including to protect staff, to ensure public safety, to protect public assets, and to deter or detect anti-social behaviour and vandalism.”