The long-promised public CCTV system for Killarney remains stalled, with no start date in sight, despite funding being approved earlier this year.

At Monday’s meeting of Kerry County Council, Councillor Tom Barry (Listowel Municipal District) raised the issue again, seeking clarity on when the long-awaited Killarney CCTV project will finally begin.
Cllr Barry, who is monitoring the Killarney project closely as a model for rolling out similar systems elsewhere in the county, asked the council to arrange a meeting between An Garda Síochána and the council’s Data Protection Officer to progress the matter.
He said that only through direct engagement could the necessary Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) be completed and the project finally move forward.
However, the official response from the council offered little reassurance or any sense of urgency.
The reply stated:
“There has been considerable engagement between all stakeholders in relation to CCTV and, in particular, the preparation of a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) for the Killarney Town Centre CCTV scheme. The final approval to that DPIA is awaited, and Kerry County Council will continue to work with partners to reiterate the importance of this.”
No commencement date, project timeline, or installation schedule was provided.
In July of this year, funding was formally approved for the long-promised Killarney. CCTV scheme.
At that time, Kerry County Council confirmed that the Killarney project could proceed as soon as An Garda Síochána provided final sign-off.
However, three months later, there has been no visible progress on the ground, no update from Garda Headquarters, and no indication of when approval might be granted.
The CCTV initiative, which has been discussed at multiple council meetings over several years, is designed to enhance public safety, deter antisocial behaviour, and assist gardaí in investigating crimes in busy areas such as Killarney’s town centre and nightlife zones.
The absence of CCTV in the town centre has been a long-standing frustration for both councillors and business owners, particularly given Killarney’s status as one of the country’s busiest tourist towns.