Covert CCTV to curb Racecourse Road dumping a "last resort"

Louth County Council have said installing covert CCTV to tackle illegal dumping on the Racecourse Road in Dundalk is a "last resort". 

It came after Independent councillor Ciarán Fisher raised the issue at the March meeting of Louth County Council. 

Cllr Fisher said dumping has resumed since CCTV cameras which had been installed on the road were removed. He suggested that the local authority explore the possibility of covert surveillance. 

David Hanratty, Director of Services with Louth County Council said he was reluctant to comment on that area as there is a "live enforcement process going on there". 

However, he said covert CCTV is the last resort due to potential privacy infringements. 

"Covert CCTV is the last resort and has a much higher bar in terms of privacy impact assessments. So it is something we will put through the enforcement process and really see what that yields," he said. 

Cllr Fisher also said similar dumping had taken place on the Newry Road. 

"I’m disappointed to report there was similar, although not to the same scale, that dumping has occurred on the Newry Road into a waterway out by the industrial estate out there. It just seems to be a galling and worsening problem.

That’s something that I would like to see some sort of action on at this point," he said. 

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Louth County Council told councillors at the latest Dundalk Municipal District meeting that there are plans to reinstall CCTV to the Racecourse Road, but said it would just be a temporary fix.

Cllr Fisher suggested that an agricultural gate could be a solution to the problem. 

"If the CCTV is going to be temporary, could we possibly look at putting in an agricultural gate. There’s only two houses beyond the pump where the dumping is occurring.

Maybe it's a case of working with the landowners and the homeowners and put a gate in, and give them an access key. Just make it a lot harder to drive down in the middle of the night," he said.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.