I wish to raise the issue of CCTV in towns and communities right across the country. I have been working with community groups and different organisations that are leading on improved safety in their neighbourhoods, on their streets and in their towns and villages. There has been a scheme for CCTV in towns but complexities to do with GDPR and the funding mechanism for CCTV means it is impossible to get the funding.

I am asking that we have a dedicated CCTV scheme for towns and villages that can be funded through community groups and organisations. This would allow communities to lead and deliver on these schemes. There are companies that are able to use the existing CCTV systems of businesses and tie them into an overall network of cameras within a town or village.

I know Councillor Jarlath Munnelly in Killala and Councillor Neil Cruise in Foxford have been doing a lot of work with their communities on it. It is something that represents a great opportunity in terms of making places and communities feel safer. It is about getting the mechanisms right from a funding point of view.

There are companies that can do it and that meet all the different bureaucratic or technical obstacles that currently exist from a GDPR point of view. For example, at the moment in Ballina, if there is an incident at 5 p.m. on a Friday evening, a garda has to go to the council offices, which may be closed at that time. If it is a bank holiday weekend, that garda might have to wait until the following Tuesday to access footage of an incident, by which stage that garda might be off on leave, given that they might be seven days on, seven days off. As such, it could be two weeks before footage is actually attained. However, if we had a proper system in all of our towns and villages, there could be footage available for use within 60 seconds. Whether it was footage of someone vulnerable who goes missing, an incident or an accident, or something simple like something being lost or misplaced, we could have real-time information. It could improve safety and also the quality of life of citizens in communities. I ask that we have a discussion on this with the Minister to see that a proper scheme - not a bureaucratic scheme - for communities is introduced.

In the final seconds I have, I wish to mention my former secondary school, my alma mater, which is in the Connacht final tomorrow evening. I want to wish St. Muredach's College the very best of luck. It is playing St. Gerald's College. St. Muredach's has not won the Connacht A before. They are playing the game in Bekan, in Ballyhaunis. Please God, all of the management, players, supporters, and students past and present get out and support the college to get the win.