The Government has received just six applications for funding from communities who want to install a CCTV scheme in their local area, despite €3m being set aside to fund the cameras.

Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton confirmed 25 data breaches had been identified in her department following investigations over the past five years.

The data commissioner has said his office needs more resources as staff are “stretched beyond the limit”, with 1,161 complaints opened for investigation last year alone.

THE Catholic Church’s child protection tsar, Ian Elliott, was on the verge of resigning in the past year after a review of child protection standards in the country’s 26 dioceses was halted because the Church refused to co-operate.