Minister for the Diaspora and International Development, Ciaran Cannon, has said that the vandalism of a church near Clifden highlights the need for rural communities to avail of Government funding for CCTV.
Minister Cannon said: “This vandalism of a church near Clifden is a sign of the vulnerability of unguarded properties to the mindless acts of roving thugs. Recently my colleague, Minister for Justice Charlie Flanagan, made €100,000 available to local communities who wish to apply for a rebate towards the costs associated with running their local text alert scheme.
“I know many communities here in Galway are very active in using the system for crime prevention and I would like to commend the excellent work of the people involved in safeguarding our local communities. I know as well as anyone the positive impact text alert groups are having on rural communities and I have been updating the Minister on the excellent work being done here in Galway by locals in tandem with the hard work of the local Garda Síochána.
“Minister Flanagan`s Department is also assisting in the prevention and detection of local crime through the grant-aid scheme to assist the establishment of community-based CCTV systems. This scheme will run for three years, with up to €1 million being made available for each year of the scheme to assist local communities – the application process is open and I urge local communities to look into this, and see if it fits with their needs.
“The provision of CCTV schemes will assist in the prevention and reduction of local crime, disorder, and anti-social activity, and increase community involvement to prevent and reduce crime in local areas. These schemes allow new technologies to fuse with the traditional value of active community engagement to keep Galway safe. Sadly, what happened in Clifden is a reminder that schemes like this are more than necessary.”
