Two further Laois community groups have been approved for CCTV schemes this week.
The Woodenbridge Community District and the Donaghmore Community Alert have both been approved by the Department of Justice.
This follows on from an earlier annoucement this week that funding had been granted for a project in Mountmellick.
“The grant is 60% of total costs with the community having the matching funding for the residual balance,” said Minister Charlie Flanagan who has responsibility for this area.
“In addition, a once off maintenance grant of €5,000 has been approved.”
The hard-working communities in these areas have been campaigning strongly for support in recent years.
At the recent Joint Policing Commission meeting in October, it was explained that a number of outstanding issues – including GDPR and Garda authorisation – in relation to the rollout of these schemes had been resolved.
The local authority had been working in tandem with the Gardai and the Laois Federation of Community Alert schemes to resolve those matters.
The schemes which have been piloted in some areas are deemed to have proved a significant deterrent to criminals and an important asset in the detection and tracking of criminal gangs.
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