A Fine Gael councillor has claimed that only six of the 19 CCTV cameras in the county town are working.
Cllr Ger Deere told the September meeting of the Castlebar Municipal District that he had seen first hand himself this week that only six of the cameras were working, having been in the Garda Station and seen it there. He also said that the ones that were still working were poor quality and not providing the right kind of coverage.
The first-term county councillor asked the council executive - who was responsible for the maintenance of the cameras - as it was something that needed to be rectified quickly.
Cathaoirleach of the district, Cllr Blackie Gavin, said that: "This is very worrying," while Cllr Al McDonnell said it was a very serious matter that needed to be addressed "as all should be working".
Cllr Michael Kilcoyne said that previously, the town council maintained the cameras, before the town councils were abolished.
Senior engineer for Mayo County Council, Anne Sweeney, said that the Gardaí monitored the cameras and the council did not have access to them. She added that she didn't know was the council responsible for the maintenance of them and wasn't aware of any budget for the maintenance of them by the council.
Head of the district for the council, Iarla Moran, said he would look into where the responsibility for the maintenance lay.
