A Fine Gael TD has proposed a new law to expand CCTV use in parts of Dublin where there are "high levels of crime".
Dublin Bay South TD James Geoghegan wants to "remove red tape" and allow gardaí to be able to access and install cameras in locations that will "have the greatest impact".
He called on Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan to introduce the new legislation to significantly expand and streamline the use of CCTV in parts of Dublin.
Speaking outside Leinster House, Mr Geoghegan said: "It's a concern that there isn't enough CCTV in the areas of communities where there are high levels of crime.
"The last Dáil passed a law that would introduce CCTV. Unfortunately, that law has not yet commenced.
"The gardaí have carried out a public consultation in relation to CCTV, but what this bill would do is we'd simply make it easier, reduce the red tape, support local gardaí who want to introduce CCTV in the areas where there is community need."
Mr Geoghegan said Dublin is lagging behind other European cities when it comes to the amount of CCTV in operation, saying there is one camera for every 6,000 people compared to one in 73 in parts of London.
According to Mr Geoghegan, there are 209 garda-operated CCTV cameras across the Dublin metropolitan area, and that there has been no increase since April 2025.
"I don't want to turn us into London but I do want to acknowledge that in, for example, the boroughs of London and Fulham, I think it's one in 73, we're one in 6,000 so that's a pretty significant gap.
"No one is talking about overnight flooding the city with CCTV cameras, but in a proportionate, balanced way, we introduce more garda-operated CCTV," he said.
Mr Geoghegan said he would not be in favour of facial recognition technology on CCTV and this was not something currently envisioned in his bill.
"This isn't a slippery slop argument, we're just making a very simple point here - that there isn't enough CCTV cameras in Dublin city, there hasn't been sufficient investment in relation to those CCTV cameras," he said.
Gardaí cannot erect cameras 'wherever they like' - ICCL
The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) said that An Garda Síochána "cannot simply erect cameras wherever and whenever they like".
A spokesperson for the ICCL said: "CCTV systems can have legitimate purposes, such as securing premises. But, unless CCTV is used proportionately, it risks becoming an unreasonable and unlawful intrusion into the data protection and privacy rights of individuals.
"This is why we have data protection laws - to protect us from that intrusion. But they cannot simply erect cameras wherever and whenever they like.
"There are good reasons for this - whether you're going to the shop or at a protest, none of us wants to be watched and tracked by the guards unnecessarily."
The ICCL added that "more surveillance" was not the "whole answer", warning that CCTV among other technology could lead to "greater distrust" between communities and gardaí.
"Nobody wants to live in fear of crime or witness their local area being vandalised.
"But more surveillance and more collection of data through CCTV, body-worn cameras and other technology, is not the whole answer.
"In fact, it may only serve to sow greater distrust between local communities and An Garda Síochána.
"Questions need to be asked about the efficacy of CCTV for this purpose; and what less intrusive, and potentially more effective options, exist and whether they have been properly tried," the spokesperson said.
