Galway city manager Mr John Tierney has rejected a claim that the council has been using CCTV cameras to spy on local authority tenants, and has defended its use of private investigators as legal.
Mr Tierney explained that people in some parts of the city were "fed up" with certain anti-social behaviour, and the installation of a CCTV system in two locations was one way of addressing the problem.
He stressed that a CCTV system had been installed in one location on the request of residents as a deterrent to anti-social behaviour, which he defined as intimidation, drug dealing, damage to property or illegal dumping. "Our occasional use of private investigators is perfectly legal and the CCTV system was installed in one of two locations in the city on the request of local people. "The city centre CCTV system is being installed at the request of businesses. We have the facility to look at the CCTV tapes ourselves to monitor anti-social behaviour," he said.
However, Alderman Catherine Connolly is adamant that, to date, the CCTV system has not helped to address anti-social behaviour. She recently brought such behaviour to the officials' attention by taking photographs herself.
Ms Connolly told the Labour Party conference in Dublin at the weekend she was shocked that so little was known about the monitoring of a system that cost the city €250,000. Her comments have angered some Fianna Fáil councillors and candidates in Galway who issued a statement rejecting her accusations.
They described her as hypocritical, saying she complained about illegal dumping and illegal fires but still wanted to protect the identity of those responsible.
The statement was signed by Alderman Michael Leahy, councillors Martin Quinn and Val Hanley, and candidates Johanna Downes, Michael Kelly, Feargal Wall, John Connolly and Tom Cox.
