COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

South Dublin County Council Crest

MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

Monday, March 14, 2022

QUESTION NO.4

QUESTION: Councillor C. King

To ask the Chief Executive, when it comes to requests for the erection of mobile CCTV on sites for the purposes of assisting in identifying or deterring individuals or groups from engaging in illegal dumping - is there a Countywide Policy with regards GDPR in this regard or does each case or site have to be processed through the Data Commissioners office and can the Chief Executive make a statement on the matter.

REPLY:

South Dublin County Council has a CCTV code of practice for the operation of such systems under the remit of South Dublin County Council, and there is no requirement to process the erection of individual units through the Data Protection Commission (DPC). However the use of CCTV for any purpose is considered high risk to personal data and so specific safeguards and controls must be put in place before any new CCTV systems are commissioned, including that a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) be completed, the use of CCTV is clearly signposted in the vicinity of any cameras, all recorded CCTV footage must be adequately secured and access to playback of recorded footage must be password-protected. Each CCTV system has an Authorised Person (and nominee(s)) within the Council who are authorised to operate and monitor that CCTV system. This authorised person is responsible for making sure that the system is only used in an appropriate manner in conformance with legislative requirements.


It is a priority that the privacy of individuals is protected at all times, in line with the General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Acts 1988 to 2018. The Council must also comply with the Garda Siochana Act 2005, the Councils Data Protection Policy and Data Protection and Compliance Guidelines, the Private Security Authority Licensing requirements, guidance from the Irish Aviation Authority, and the Law Enforcement Directive (EU) 2016/680 (LED) (Part 5, Data Protection Act, 2018) which applies to the Council’s Law Enforcement activities under the Waste Management Acts and the Litter Pollution Acts. The DPC has issued recent decisions related to a local authority's legal basis for processing of personal data through CCTV usage within the Litter Pollution Acts and the Waste Management Acts. SDCC and the local government sector are examining the implications of these decisions currently.